Learning to Love
by Dreamcatcher97
Summary: This is set shortly after DD so there will probably be some spoilers for all games. Without warning, Miles finds himself falling in love with the quirky police officer Nina Forester, despite his desperation not to. These newfound feelings of love are strange to the chief prosecutor and confessing to her seems just too risky. After all, Miles has just started learning how to love.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so this is my first time writing and posting fanfiction on the internet - please be kind! Although I'm always open to constructive criticism with any part of the chapter that you think requires improvement. I wish I could say how often I'd be posting but I've got no idea as I'm starting my A-Levels so things will probably get pretty hectic at school - but I'll make sure to post whenever I can! **

**Anyway, if you like how this is going please let me know in the form of a review so I know whether or not to continue. **

If there was one thing that chief prosecutor Miles Edgeworth loved, it was routine. Carrying out every day using repetition and predictability was exactly what he strived to do. Being late or off-the-mark wasn't even an option. His daily routine was strict and he liked it – if only to avoid any errors on his part.

Miles carried out his morning routine like usual; he woke up at 5am, got dressed and ate a half-burnt breakfast before reading through a couple of case files with his beloved dog Pesu beside him. At 6:30am he'd begin his journey over to the LAPD and his own office in his expensive red sports car – arriving there at around 7am even though he wasn't required to be at work until 8 or he reached his office, the chief prosecutor had a feeling that something was missing: one step in his faultless morning routine had failed to happen. For the first time for as long as he could remember.

_Where on earth is Detective Gumshoe?_

Usually, the detective would wait in the car park for Miles' arrival so he could greet him – much like a loyal puppy would do. This had to have been the first time in a while that Gumshoe hadn't been at the precinct before his boss. Deciding that the detective must have been delayed by traffic, the prosecutor headed inside his office and read some more case files to pass the time until everyone else started to arrive at the LAPD.

About an hour or so later, there was a knock on his office door. Finally, Gumshoe's here.

"Come in, Detective." Miles called out, putting his papers down. But to the chief prosecutor's surprise, Detective Gumshoe didn't enter her office; instead a vaguely familiar female came into the office with a smile and two coffees. "Wrong. Sorry you're stuck with me for the day."

A woman with brunette hair that had been lazily tied back into a messy ponytail and a large smile was stood in the doorway. She was dressed in a long brown trench coat, with a skirt and crisp white blouse underneath. In fact, she could've been referred to as the female version of Gumshoe.

"What're you gawping at?" She asked Miles with a slight laugh; he instantly noted that her accent was English-sounding. "Have I spilt somethin' down my front?" The brunette anxiously glanced down at her blouse, examining it closely. Miles then realised his staring was making her uncomfortable.

"No, there's nothing there." He said before standing up from his desk. "May I ask what you're doing here? Moreover, who are you?"

The trenchcoat-wearing Englishwoman stopped inspecting her clothes and walked over to his desk; setting down the cups of coffee and holding out her hand to shake. "Officer Nina Forester. I'm Detective Gumshoe's subordinate."

Miles recalled the detective telling him something about having a subordinate; in fact, he'd probably mentioned the woman in front of him so many times that the chief prosecutor had gotten used to simply ignoring these ramblings. Reluctantly he shook Nina's hand, unsure of whether or not he should introduce himself as well.

"You don't know why I'm here, Mr Edgeworth?" Nina asked with an edge of offence to her voice.

"No. Frankly this is the first time I'm hearing your name, Forester." Miles didn't want to be rude but he didn't know how to speak to this woman truthfully without sounding as such. By the way she raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest, Miles knew that the officer had found his manner to be impolite.

"I'm sure Dick has mentioned me. You probably weren't listening to him as usual…sir."

The chief prosecutor was astounded. Had Detective Gumshoe really told his subordinate that he was often ignored and paid little attention to? (As well as little money.) This police officer certainly was blunt; he was at a loss for words. Miles didn't like someone trying to challenge him – it rarely happened – especially from a woman. Well, apart from Franziska.

"I'm working as your detective for today." Nina rolled her eyes, obviously she'd been growing impatient of waiting for the chief prosecutor to identify her reason for being in his office. "Detective Gumshoe requested that I cover for him. He sent you an email but you obviously never check your inbox." Again with the bluntness.

"And why isn't Detective Gumshoe here today?" It wasn't like him to ever be absent so the reason had to be acceptable.

"Missile had to be taken to the vet." She replied shortly, her green eyes focused on the unique blue and red chess set on the far right side of the office. "Do you play chess?"

"Yes I do play. I assume you do too?" Miles asked, although confused about the fact that the officer had attempted to have two different conversations with him at once.

"Do I look like someone that plays chess?" She smirked, obviously amused by her boss' question. "But yes, Missile is ill. Thank you for your concern." As well as blunt, this young woman appeared to be a fan of sarcasm. Miles was becoming unsure as to which comment he should reply to; deciding that the reasoning behind Detective Gumshoe's absence was a more pressing matter – he'd left the chief prosecutor stranded with such a difficult woman after all.

"I never said I wasn't concerned. I'm just wondering why he's taken a day off when his attendance record has been perfect until today." He wasn't a completely insensitive man but the fact that his detective wasn't present due to a sick dog bewildered him; especially someone as punctual as Gumshoe. Miles attempted to picture what he'd do if his dog Pesu had fallen ill but his thoughts were cut off by a pair of dark brown eyes glaring at him.

"Exactly. Dick very rarely takes a day off so why is this such an issue?" Nina's patience seemed to be wearing thin and her arms were still folded across her chest to demonstrate this annoyance. Miles took note of how she'd referred to Detective Gumshoe as 'Dick' several times; obviously the officer and he were close. It wasn't too surprising since the detective wasn't a difficult person to get along with. Unlike a certain someone he could think of.

"It really isn't an issue, Officer Forester. I'm just concerned that he sent an officer to do a detective's job. Do you really think that you can handle it?" Miles really didn't want to have to argue with this infuriating woman all day. She would end up driving him insane. He'd much rather have to tolerate Detective Chris Chambers – and he was well-known for his rude and reckless behaviour.

"Well, I'm hoping to become a detective in time. I don't think it'll be too different to what I'm used to doing." Even Nina's optimism seemed a little irritating now: she wasn't going to give in. Miles needed a way out, an excuse to not have to put up with Nina Forester all day long.

Despite himself, he had to send the brunette officer back to her own job. "I'm afraid that I'll have to decline your services today, Forester."

Nina laughed in astonishment, not believing what she was hearing. "You're serious? Then who's going to cover Detective Gumshoe's job?" Miles thought hard; he'd have liked to have said Detective Skye but she was on vacation.

Only one other detective's name came to mind. "Detective Chambers. When you return to the precinct could you call him for me?"

Nina's face dropped. "There's no bloody chance of that happening." She picked up the two cups of coffee that she'd brought for her boss and turned for the door. "You'd rather have an incompetent adulterer work for you than me? Fine. Have fun." And with that, the English officer stormed out of the room.

Almost momentarily after her departure, Phoenix Wright came into the chief prosecutor's office with a smirk on his face. "Have you been ruffling some feathers, Edgeworth?"

Miles took a seat at his desk; it was only 10:22am and he was already tired and suffering from a headache. "No, she was just being difficult and overly sensitive."

"Officer Forester seemed pretty upset to me…" Phoenix said with an edge of concern.

_Wright knows who she is. Hm, that figures._

"She'll be fine. She just needs to get back to work."

Phoenix frowned a little, clearly empathetic for the police officer. "That's a little harsh isn't it? Forester's actually really nice." He paused, deciding to elaborate on his reason for knowing her. "She comes to Trucy's shows sometimes with Ema and Apollo and is always pleasant company."

"Wright, all I said to her was that she wasn't capable of playing detective for the day so I requested Detective Chambers." Miles explained calmly, attempting to convince his childhood friend that he'd said nothing of extreme offence whatsoever. Little did he know, he really had offended Nina.

Phoenix began to chuckle slightly, then his face retorted to a serious one. "You really are in her bad books then."

"Why's that?" The prosecutor asked, unsure of what to think. The entire situation was painful and making his headache worse.

"You obviously don't know. Oh I feel so bad for you; Forester's going to kill you if she sees you again." Phoenix couldn't help the smirk reappear on his face. To him the unfortunate circumstances were pure gold.

But Miles still had no idea as to what the defence attorney was saying. "Wright, care to elaborate?"

"Detective Chambers is Officer Forester's ex-husband." The defence attorney stated, still a little amused that the chief prosecutor was unaware of the fact. "They divorced because he had several affairs while they were married and now they despise one another."

"What?!" Miles couldn't believe it: Nina really was going to kill him. "I-I had no idea. How on earth do you know?"

"Detective Skye. Apparently it was big news at the precinct last year." He began to chuckle yet again. "I can't believe you didn't know. You should get better acquainted with your employees, Edgeworth; some of the things I've learnt about Athena and Apollo would get your cravat in a knot."

Miles wasn't sure whether he should be laughing at his friend's remark. However, he found no humour in the unlucky situation. "You may enjoy learning every little detail regarding your employees, but frankly it's no interest - or business – of mine."

"You really should apologise to her though." Instantly, the chief prosecutor hated the thought of doing so. Of course he didn't want to seem like an impolite person but he didn't want Nina to turn down his apology or become smug because of it.

"I hardly meant to upset her. I'm sure she'll forget all about this soon enough." He insisted in an attempt to get out of having to say that he was sorry.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "are you scared?"

"What exactly is there to be scared of?" Miles asked, bewildered that the attorney would even ask such a question. It wasn't like he was afraid of women.

"Perhaps you feel intimidated by Nina? Or all woman in general?" That amused expression was back on Phoenix's face; although he did pity the prosecutor.

"I certainly am not." Miles stated, his cheeks flushed a little – he was clearly feeling a little embarrassed. He didn't have a fear of women at all! He just had no understanding of them or how they 'operated'. Sure, like many men his age, he'd thought about having a long-term relationship and starting a family but, so far, no suitable woman had come into the picture. In fact, he'd never had a girlfriend; though he'd never tell anyone this.

"If you're not scared, go on and tell Forester that you're sorry." Phoenix really was pushing for an apology.

_What possible interest could Wright have in this matter?_

"I really am not—"

The attorney cut Miles off mid-sentence and pointed sternly towards the door. "Go on…"

Miles tried his hand at pleading for an excuse once more before he glumly gave up and grumbled something under his breath before heading for the door. Phoenix smiled to himself as the chief prosecutor left: he really didn't understand women.

**If you're still here, thank you!**

**I promise there will be a lot of character development with my OC's Nina and her ex, Chris Chambers. I promise, you'll know more about them in the next few chapters.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, so it's time for chapter 2! I wish I could say how many chapters there are going to be but I have no idea; although I do think I know how this fanfic is going to end already. I hope you enjoy it and please review if you have the time! **

**Also, I'm going to try and aim for weekly updates even though it probably won't last when my courses get extensive. But we shall see.**

Thankfully Nina hadn't left the underground parking lot by the time Miles had made it down the several flights of stairs – avoiding the elevator of course. He followed the sound of the police officer's thick Yorkshire accent to the far side of the car park – her voice echoing through the empty space around them.

"I'm telling you Dick, that man was so rude to me. I honestly can't see how you can work for such a cold guy. What does he want me to do? Dye my hair bleach blonde and walk around practically naked because that seems like the only way I'll be attractive to a guy."

Miles recognised the anger and hurt in Nina's voice. Her divorce from Detective Chambers had obviously had a huge effect on her self-image. He was starting to feel really guilty…

"You're just saying that because we're friends and it's your duty to try and compliment me." She sighed and smiled slightly. "Thanks Gummy. Yeah I'll try. Send Missile my love, won't you? Okay, bye bye." The officer hung up and stuffed her mobile phone into her pocket before opening the car door.

_She's going to leave. It's now or never…_

"Forester, may I have a word?" Miles called after her, his face was flustered and his stomach was churning.

"If you're going to give me another lecture or undermine me, can I just leave?" Nina slammed her car door shut and leant against her car, arms folded impatiently. It was a grey Volkswagen beetle that looked like it had seen better days; but at that same time, it appeared to have been loved for years.

"I wanted to…apologise to you." The chief prosecutor cleared his throat. "How I acted earlier was inappropriate. And…if the offer's still on, I'd like it if you assisted me today."

"I'll have you know that I'm just as capable of doing my duties as that dirty Chambers or any other detective. And if you agree with me, then I might just help you out today."

Miles nodded, accepting what Nina was saying; knowing that he had no choice. "A-Alright."

She grinned and patted Miles on the back. "See, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

His cheeks reddened slightly at the contact; her touch was gentle and her smile seemed genuine. Miles had never seen a smile like it.

"Come on then." Nina said, locking up her car and shoving her hands into the deep pockets of her trenchcoat. Why she was wearing such a large jacket in summer seemed so bizarre; you could tell she'd spent too much time with Gumshoe.

The chief prosecutor turned and headed towards the stairwell; making sure to steer clear of the elevator further down the building. Nina followed contently, humming a tune as she walked with a suitable distance between them. "Isn't there an elevator around?" She asked, staring with widened eyes at the many flights of stairs she'd have to conquer for the third time that day.

Miles knew he needed a decent excuse: if he used the elevator with Nina he'd become a laughing stock. _Think, think quick!_

"There is an elevator but…it's out of order at the moment." It seemed believable. The police officer nodded, seemingly content with his answer – or rather, Miles' lie.

When Miles reached the top of the stairs, he had to watch as Nina dragged herself up the final flight; unsure if she was genuinely tired or just attempting to be comical. She was breathless when she eventually reached the top, her breathing ragged as she took in deep breaths.

"How…how on e-earth do…you climb th-those e-every day? I-I've done that…three…three times now…" The officer gasped, leaning against the wall, her face pale.

"Are you alright?" Miles asked once he realised that Nina wasn't joking – she really was out of breath.

"I-I'll be fine…just…just give me a moment…" The brunette carefully lowered herself to the floor and rested her head in her shaky hands, breathing deeply.

Miles was beginning to grow concerned for the young woman sat at his feet. "I'm sorry, I can't help but feel like this is my fault…"

Nina shook her head. "Honestly…this is m-my doing." She lifted her head up and attempted to get back to her feet. The chief prosecutor immediately rushed to assist Nina but she brushed his hand away and wobbled to her feet. "See? I'm okay now."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Miles asked, still puzzled regarding his employee's dizzy spell mere moments ago.

She shrugged, obviously not wanting to discuss the matter. "It was nothing. I should just workout more."

"Are you sure?" Miles could tell that Nina was fibbing behind her cheerful façade. But after their clash earlier, he was wary to push for the truth. Despite his concern.

Miles took Nina through to his office and was both surprised and irritated to find a certain defence attorney sat at his desk. "I was wondering when you'd get back." He said, smiling smugly at Miles before turning his attention to Nina. "It's nice to see you Officer Forester."

She smiled back, obviously trying to mask her fatigue after the recent incident. "You too, Mr Wright."

Miles, however, flashed Phoenix a glare before nodding over to one of the red velvet settees in the middle of the room. "Forester, I insist that you take a seat and rest for a few minutes." Nina thought his efforts were sweet but firmly declined his offer of a break and instead asked if the two men would like anything to drink.

Not knowing what had recently occurred, Phoenix requested a coffee and looked confused when Miles shot him daggers as Nina left the office. "What's wrong? She offered…"

"She isn't very well, Wright." Miles hissed, glancing behind him at the door. "She…she almost fainted." Already, the prosecutor had spilled the beans.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I'm not sure. But once we'd reached the top of the stairwell, Forester was having trouble breathing." Miles explained quietly, knowing that Nina would've killed him if she overheard their conversation for the corridor.

"Well I didn't know. Officer Forester seemed fine to me…" Phoenix said, feeling guilty for requesting a drink from the weary woman.

"She didn't want to make a fuss." Miles sighed and stared at the door. "What if something happens…?"

"She's only gone to the coffee machine. It's about seven paces down the hall and she isn't a child." Phoenix grinned and tilted his head to one side, amused at the situation. "You're worried about her. Are you going soft in your old age, Edgey?"

"Of course not. Just what are you implying Wright?"

"Less than an hour ago you were ranting about how difficult she is and now you're desperate to rush to her aid…" He winked at Miles even though he knew his friend was probably still oblivious to what he was hinting at.

"Forester almost fainted earlier. I think that's a good enough reason to be concerned." Miles stated, sliding his glasses further up his nose.

"Admit it."

"Admit what?"

"You like Officer Forester. You're sweet on her." Phoenix nudged Miles playfully, still grinning widely. "Well I can't fault your taste in women."

The prosecutor's cheeks flushed magenta to match his suit and he ferociously shook his head. "We…I do not have feelings for her. After today it's likely that I'll ever speak to her again…!" He hissed, constantly checking on the door for a sign of Nina.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. She's a very nice and very attractive woman." The attorney insisted, feeling entertained by his friend's embarrassment and naivety towards women. "Do you think she's pretty, Edgeworth?"

Before Miles could stammer out an indignant reply, Nina re-entered the office with a mug of coffee for the spiky-haired lawyer and one for herself; she seemed puzzled as to why the room was so quiet upon her arrival. "Am I interrupting something?" She asked, handing Phoenix one of the cups. The pair shook their heads in unison at Nina's question. Although they both knew that someone had to speak up in order to break the awkward silence lingering within the room.

"Have you heard of the show _Steel Samurai_?" Phoenix asked Nina, in an attempt to fill the room with conversation again. Nina shook her head, looking confused.

"It's a children's tv show with a detailed plot; as well as being a wide-known franchise throughout America." Miles explained casually while attempting to mask his love for the popular old children's tv show.

"It's Edgeworth here's favourite show." Phoenix announced with a smile. Oh how Miles wanted to throttle that man.

"Is that so?" Nina's expression was unreadable. It was unclear whether she was shocked or amused.

"It was…when I was younger…I…" Miles was becoming flustered by Phoenix's comments and Nina's big brown eyes on him.

Nina laughed softly, "it's nothing to be ashamed of; children's tv shows are the best." She smiled and took a sip of coffee. "When I was on maternity leave, I watched a _lot_ of Disney movies."

_Forester has a child?_ Miles honestly hadn't imagined the officer as being a maternal woman – nor could he picture Chris Chambers as a doting father. But perhaps there was a lot he didn't know about the pair.

Just then, the telephone began to ring. Miles went over to answer it, glaring at Phoenix so he'd move out of the chief prosecutor's chair. "Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth." He answered formally, listening in to the receiver whilst Phoenix whispered something to Nina, prompting her to stifle any ounces of laughter during Miles' phone call. "Yes, alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." He nodded before slamming down the phone and grabbing his jacket.

"What's up, sir? Where are we going?" Nina asked eagerly, handing her boss his briefcase.

"People Park. The detective on the scene has requested for me to take a look."

Phoenix smiled and stood up, "Well I should get going. I promised Trucy I'd take her out for lunch." He set down his empty mug and patted Edgeworth's shoulder with a smug smile. "I'll see you both later. Have fun." Phoenix winked at his childhood friend.

Luckily, the attorney left before Miles could silence him.

He sighed and shook his head: Phoenix had been behaving oddly since Nina entered the room. And he seemed very convinced that Miles was becoming soft. He wasn't. He could hardly tolerate Nina for one thing. Let alone love her.

Besides, he'd never loved anyone before.

"Come on, Mr Edgeworth!" The acting detective called from the doorway, in high spirits for the investigating that was yet to come. Miles locked up his office before leaving; being sure to take his time going down the stairwell so Nina didn't lose her breath. Although he did feel guilty and wished he could've told Nina about the working elevator's existence, Miles knew that he couldn't risk humiliating himself.

They took his car to the crime scene, Nina riding shotgun in the expensive leather seat; greatly impressed by her boss' imported sports car. "I'd love to own a car like this someday." She said as Miles started the engine. For the first five minutes of the journey, neither spoke a word; Nina being too amazed by Miles' car and the chief prosecutor being too shy to speak to her.

_Maybe I am scared of women._ Miles shook his head: he certainly wasn't.

"Forester, how long have you been living in America?" He blurted out, deciding to prove his bravery towards the female race.

Nina appeared to think hard for a moment, "about…thirteen years, I'd say. I was sixteen when my mum moved us over here. So not young enough for me to drop my accent; even though mum wanted my brother and me to pick up the American accent so we'd fit in." Her voice had a bitter edge to it.

"I'm sure your mother had your best interests at heart." Miles insisted reassuringly, his eyes still glued to the road ahead.

_Traffic, great…_ The chief prosecutor was going to be stuck in the car with Nina for a while.

"I doubt that..." The police officer sighed and fixed her eyes out of the window. "If anything, she ruined our lives in her last years. She died ten years ago."

"I-I'm really sorry to hear that." Miles stammered; bewildered at the fact that Nina was so casual discussing her late mother.

"I'm glad one of us is sorry." Nina smiled sadly, appearing to not be at all phased by the death of her mother. "I'm sorry…that came out wrong. You…you must think I'm a horrible person." Her hands flew to cover her mouth and the astonished expression her lips were sporting. The cold and casual manner in which she was acting surprised even the officer herself.

Miles shook his head. But didn't say a word in response; he wasn't trying to be rude, he just didn't know how to reply to her attitude. Although he gathered that Nina and her mother couldn't have been close. Which seemed rather sad: a mother and daughter traditionally shared a close bond. Much like a father and his son…

"Enough about me, what's your family like?"

Miles winced, "I don't really have a family."

"What? Now I can't believe that." Nina's brown eyes widened. "You seem like the type of guy that perfectly juggles his career with his family life."

Miles felt his face flush and his cheeks turn pink. He certainly disagreed with the brunette's comment. Franziska was perhaps the closest person to a family member in his life.

"Well I've no need. There's just me."

"…You've got Mr Wright, right? He's been your friend since your were little so I guess, in a way, he's like your brother?" Nina suggested with a smile. Miles couldn't help but disagree yet again, but at least he was good at pretending to.

Then Miles wondered how on earth Nina had found out about his long-standing friendship with his fabled 'rival' of the courtroom; realising rather quickly that Detective Gumshoe must've informed her about their childhood friendship. _What else has he told her?_

"W-What about your brother? Are the two of you close?" He stammered, attempting to remove himself from the centre of their conversation.

"We're here." Nina stated, nodding ahead in the direction of People Park that lie right before them.

Upon pulling up outside the main gates, Miles recognised how chaotic the community park looked; police cars were dotted around the parking lot and the entire area had been cordoned off. The chief prosecutor and his acting detective got out of the car and made their way to the main gates, being greeted by two officers on guard of the vicinity as they headed to the centre of the park – only to be greeted by a team of forensic investigators and the still, lifeless body of a man in his 50's.

Miles looked over at Nina. It was going to be a long day.

**Was that chapter too long? I don't know I'm not very good at this...**

**But anyway, thanks for reading - I appreciate it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**We'll see a bit more of Nina's character in this chapter, as well as delving deeper into the case at hand. Hopefully I did good, so please review to let me know how you think this fanfiction is going so far! ^^;**

The victim was taken away for further examination shortly after Miles' arrival on the scene. The autopsy report would be written out by tomorrow morning. But for the time being, the chief prosecutor knew that the best thing to do would've been to have the detective on the scene talk him through the situation as they so far knew it. He was one of the several detectives whose name didn't come to mind earlier when he needed it. This detective was relatively short for a man of his mid-age and Miles didn't rate the way his dark hair had been styled. Still, at least he wasn't Chris Chambers…for both his and Nina's sakes.

Speaking of Nina, Miles realised she'd strayed somewhere else.

"Sir, the victim's name was Robert Murray." The unnamed detective said, handing Miles the notes he'd compiled. "In fact he's one of the inmates that escaped from the maximum security prison two days ago."

That name rang a bell with Miles. Although he couldn't quite recall how he'd heard of the victim prior to the case at hand. It must have been some time ago indeed.

"Do you have an idea as to what the cause of death was?" Miles asked, still subtly glancing around for Nina.

"From what we've been able to see, Mr Murray was stabbed multiple times in the chest area. Although we can't guarantee the COD until the autopsy report is printed." The dark-haired detective explained. He didn't say any more and an awkward silence blew over.

"Right, thank you." He was certainly a much quieter and collected detective than Nina or anyone else he'd ever met. Miles couldn't possibly imagine the man during police interrogation. Or being a detective in general.

"There was also a mobile in the victim's possession right, Baker?" An officer prompted the shy detective, handing the mobile to Miles.

"Yes, that's right. But it's locked by a password so the lab will have to look into that." Detective Baker – Miles finally knew his name – added, shuffling his feet anxiously. His nerves were enough to make even Miles feel a little on edge.

"Try 220597." Nina walked back over to where Miles and Detective Baker were stood; her eyes seemed slightly puffy but Miles decided to walk around this matter – why on earth would she have talked to him anyway. The chief prosecutor punched in the number Nina had quoted and, to his astonishment, the mobile phone unlocked itself.

"Wow, how did you know?" Detective Baker seemed impressed, his green eyes had lit up and a smile had spread from ear to ear.

"Lucky guess." Nina shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, then turned on her heels to join the forensics team. Miles followed behind her, knowing that there was more behind the 'lucky guess' than she was letting on.

"How did you really know the victim's phone password?"

"Woman's intuition." She replied with a smile. Miles shook his head, still following at the officer's heels. "Besides, what does it matter? You've got access to his phone now."

"It's apparent that you knew the victim. I'm just—"

Nina cut him off with a sharp turn of the head; Miles followed her gaze and saw shuffling within the shrubbery behind and a hooded figure quickly emerged and made a run for it. Thinking fast, the brunette officer kicked off her black heels and threw off her trenchcoat before running after the hooded male. Miles watched as Nina chased the mysterious intruder through the park; shouting for several officers to help her in this pursuit. Whilst he also wanted to help catch the suspicious man, Miles decided to gather up Nina's shoes and coat and try to find a way to cut them off.

"Stop right there!" Nina shouted, catching up to the suspect; being followed by several other officers. Her breath was shortening but the police officer knew she couldn't stop running. The man was a suspect. He had to be apprehended.

Noticing how the potential murderer was heading towards the parking lot, Miles was quick on his feet, deciding to cut him off from the north side of People Park.

Nina was closing in from behind and it was only when the hooded man reached the gate that he saw Miles come into view with a pair of handcuffs.

Needless to say, this stranger was now cut off at all sides. And he had no choice but to allow himself to be apprehended – although not without protest.

"Thanks for your help." Detective Baker said to Miles and Nina as two officers stuffed the suspect into the back of the police car. "I'll be sure to let you know if there's any advancement."

"Great, cheers Mark." Nina smiled and patted the detective's shoulder.

_So his name is Mark._

Miles also took note of how the detective tensed up and blushed a little when Nina made contact.

"Y-Yes…I'll see you both later." He replied quickly before climbing into the patrol car and driving back to the LAPD in order to question the recently caught figure.

Nina found her heels where Miles had left them; on a bench near the entrance. She laughed and put her shoes back on then nodded at Miles with her hand out. At first he was so puzzled. Then Miles realised he still had Nina's trenchcoat over his shoulder; he gingerly handed it back to her. She smiled and thanked the chief prosecutor, slipping back into her coat. "What now, sir?"

"Perhaps it's time to inform the victim's family." Miles replied, taking the mobile phone out of his pocket and opening the victim's list of recent calls. "It appears that the last person he called, he did so three times – even leaving a message. But there's no name associated with this phone number."

Nina tensed up a little, "well, I guess that number isn't of any relevance then; if the victim didn't assign a name to the contact.

Miles scanned through the contacts list; only two other numbers had been inputted – also without names. "It appears that the victim acquired this phone after breaking out of the prison. So he must have memorised all three of these numbers."

"They must all belong to his fugitive friends then."

"If that's the case there's no harm in trying the number." Miles said, pressing the call button on the mobile before Nina could protest the number's insignificance again. After a few moments of silence, a faint melody could be heard. Nina sighed and reached into her pocket, taking out the ringing mobile.

"Our victim was calling you? But why would he do that?" Miles was surprised and didn't know what to think. Why would an escaped convict be calling a police officer – unless she had something to do with the breakout.

"He called me yesterday and asked to talk. I told him to wait a day; we were going to meet tonight and I was going to try and convince him to go back. He phoned again yesterday evening but I wasn't in the mood so I let it ring. I-I wasn't aware he called again this morning, I—"

"Why would you keep something like this from the precinct? An escaped murderer had gotten in touch with you and you didn't think to let someone in higher authority know?!" Miles couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nina could've easily lost her job over this. "Why on earth would you do that?" He asked, disappointed that the bright young officer would risk her whole career.

"The victim's my father." She stated bluntly. "And he isn't a murderer."

The revelations just wouldn't stop. Miles felt like he needed to sit down; how could Nina – a police officer - be the daughter of a murderer as dangerous and twisted as Robert Murray?!

"He didn't do the things they say he did." Nina repeated, looking Miles dead in the eye. "The reason I wanted to become a detective was so I could save innocent people from suffering the same injustice my dad went through ten years ago."

The chief prosecutor began to feel so conflicted. On one hand, Nina had broken both the law and the code of the LAPD by withholding the significant information she had regarding the escaped convict's whereabouts. However, on the other hand, Robert Murray was Nina's father. All she had done was keep quiet for 24 hours to protect the man who raised her from being caught by the police – who would've severely punished him for the breakout. It was apparent that Nina strongly believed her father's innocence but Miles found it difficult to believe that a man, who'd been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, could have actually been wrongly sentenced. Although, Miles just didn't want to break what little hope the brunette had left – or anger her further.

"I know what you're thinking," Nina sighed, fiddling with the bracelet on her right wrist. "And it's okay because I'm used to people not believing me. But I will find out who killed my dad – as well as proving his innocence." She walked away from the centre of the scene and Miles was left to finish off the investigation without his acting-detective. He collected notes from the forensics team, took a look at the little evidence present before receiving a call from the precinct, regarding Detective Baker's suspect. Despite the fact that Miles wanted to immediately return to the LAPD to assist with the case at hand, he decided that Nina was his main priority at the moment; she was clearly upset and he needed to at least have the decency to offer the police officer a lift back to the precinct.

When Miles found Nina she was sat on the grass by the pond; fiddling with her mobile phone, with her back to the chief prosecutor. As he got closer to her, Miles realised that Nina was listening to some sort of audio file; he could hear the quiet sound of a man's voice and saw the way Nina hung her head, her body shaking slightly. She was crying. It hit Miles that what Nina was listening to was the voicemail the victim had sent to the last number he had called. The last words of her father.

_"…all I can…say i-is…how sorry I…I am. A-And…I love y-you…my p-perfect girl…my Nina…"_

Nina stopped the recording and her head fell into her heads in defeat. Miles warily crouched beside her on the grass in an attempt to be a source of comfort. "How are you feeling?"

_That was such a stupid question, Miles..._ He mentally kicked himself for that.

"Fine and dandy." The officer quickly wiped her eyes free of any stray tears and smiled.

"You've listened to the voicemail you're the victim sent you?"

"No, why would I do that? He's dead. Listening to it won't change anything." She lied, her voice monotone.

"Well perhaps the voicemail has the murderer's voice in the background." Miles knew Nina was adamant of keeping her father's dying message private due to its heartfelt nature but there was a chance that the first part of it had been revealing; therefore making it evidence.

"It doesn't, okay?!" Nina stood up quickly. "That message is my father's dying goodbye to me. Nothing more! I hate that I had to hear it; I had to hear my dad's dying breath and that will stay with me forever! Why would I want to replay it or hear his voice again?!"

Nina's next move left Miles speechless; she threw her iPhone into the pond. The potential evidence - her father's last words – floated to the bottom and, even if they could retrieve it easily, the phone would have suffered severe water damage and all data wouldn't have been able to be recovered.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to him." Nina whispered, putting a hand to her mouth to silence any cries that tried to re-surface. Although Miles didn't like to admit it, he knew how Nina was feeling; he could understand the pain of losing a father all too well but he didn't want to share this with her. But more than anything, Miles just wanted to hug her. He wanted to support the sobbing brunette in her time of need but he just didn't know how. So he waited. Minutes passed by until Nina's tears finally stopped falling and Miles waited patiently. It was the only thing he wasn't too shy or awkward to do.

"Are you alright?" The chief prosecutor asked once Nina straightened upright and turned to face him with a sad smile. She nodded, wiping away any remaining signs of her crying.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Nina said, glancing back at the pond. "I guess I'm getting fired for this…"

Miles needed to change the subject. "Let's just go back to the precinct. Detective Baker would like our assistance."

Even though it broke every moral he had, Miles decided not to tell anyone else about the phonecalls, voicemail and the fact that Nina's phone was now sitting at the bottom of the pond at People Park; Robert Murray was dead and, as a result, Nina had lost her father – that was punishment enough.

**I know things are moving quite slowly but I'm going to try and pick up the pace a little if I can. Detective Baker will have a few more scenes in later chapters although he isn't going to be a major character whatsoever. Chris Chambers will be involved soon though and he will become quite significant in later chapters, even though little has been said about him so far. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Hi, 6 days later we have chapter 4! I've been stuck in writer's block for much of the week so it's quite lucky I wrote parts of this last week. This chapter doesn't really focus on the relationship between Miles and Nina but I thought it'd be good to focus on the case regarding Nina's dad's death first - the case will be quite important later on. But you do get to see a bit more of Mark and a lot more of Nina's sort-of ruthless behaviour. Enjoy!**

Once Miles and Nina arrived at the LAPD, the latter led the way down the precinct's corridors, eventually ending up outside several interrogation rooms. "I know this place like the back of my hand." Nina said with a smile, opening the door to the office behind the third interrogation room. From behind the glass, they could see Detective Baker sitting across from the young man they had helped to arrest earlier; his hood had been pulled down, revealing a pair of dark glaring eyes.

"Look at him." Nina frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Smiling like it's the first morning."

"I'm sure that Detective Baker will find out the truth from him." Miles reassured her, watching intently from behind the window.

"Oh please, Mark couldn't catch a cold, never mind a criminal." She snorted with sarcastic laughter; also watching the interrogation process with a furrowed brow.

After five minutes had passed and the suspect still bore a smug grin, Nina straightened up and rolled up the draping sleeves of her trenchcoat. "I've had enough of this." She said, walking towards the door that connected the back office with the interrogation room.

"You can't just interrupt the process! Detective Baker—"

"Mr Edgeworth, I assume you want Robert Murray's killer brought to justice?" She didn't wait for a response. "Yes? Alright, this won't take long."

Before Miles could protest again her reckless behaviour, Nina had burst into the interrogation room with a smile on her face – although it was obviously fake. She walked over to where the surprised Detective sat and tapped his shoulder. "Get up."

"F-Forester, what are you—"

"Take a break, Detective." She insisted with a forceful smile. Not wanting to cause a scene, Detective Baker stood up from his chair and left the room quickly to join Miles in the back – the two of them unsure as to what Nina was going to do.

She took a seat and glared daggers at the suspect on the other side of the table.

"So you're the bad cop then?" He asked with a cool grin. "Are you gonna interrogate me?"

Nina glanced over the file in front of her. "Reece White, is it? Seems like you've got quite the criminal record: theft, drug trafficking…oh look, assault. Did you assault Robert Murray early this morning – with a knife perhaps?"

The man – Reece – didn't say a word. Instead, he plonked his muddy trainers onto the table and leaned back in his chair. "I'm not talking until my lawyer gets here."

"I don't think you've got enough money to hire an attorney, Reece. In fact…" Nina took out a large wad of cash and threw it onto the table. "I'd like to know where you got this. And why this large of a sum was on your person at the time of your arrest."

Reece reached out a hand to grab the pile of money but the brunette interrogator snatched the wad away before her suspect could retrieve it.

"If you tell me everything you know, you can have this back." She tilted her head with a smile. "Providing that your explanation of how you came across this money is legit."

"It's not drug money." He insisted, an insulted look on his face. "Nor is it stolen or embezzled."

"Then care to enlighten me on how you obtained it?" Reece groaned and his dark eyes didn't meet the officer's hard stare. She kicked him under the table. "I can't hear you. How did you get a hold of this cash?"

"I don't have to answer to you." He spat back, flinching in his chair.

"Alright. Should I assume that you murdered Mr Murray this morning?"

"I already told your nerdy friend; I didn't do it!"

"Well why were you lurking in the bushes like a guilty man? Moreover, why did you run?"

"What can I say? I love it when hot chicks chase me." Reece winked at Nina who didn't seem flattered by his compliment.

"How about I get some of the lovely residents to chase you around the prison cell you'll be staying in tonight if you don't start talking." It was apparent to the two men observing the interrogation session that Nina's patience was wearing thin.

Reece didn't reply. Nina leaned across the table and grabbed the young man by his jacket; pulling him tightly. "You better speak up soon. I don't like to be kept waiting, Mr White."

"You _are_ a bad cop! What're you going to do, whip me?"

Miles knew he had to retrieve Nina from the room; she was likely going to take up their suspect's suggestion. One whipping-woman was bad enough. The world of law didn't need another Franziska von Karma.

"Forester, may I have a word?" Miles opened the door and beckoned the brunette through to the office. Nina rolled her eyes in annoyance before following Miles through to the back room – although she made sure to flash Reece one last glare before leaving.

"What have I done now?" She groaned, slamming the door shut.

"You can't just manhandle the witness, Forester." Miles said; feeling less worried when Detective Baker nodded in agreement.

"He's also a suspect; therefore, if I have to rough him up a bit I will." Nina watched Reece from behind the glass, still glaring even though said suspect couldn't see into the room.

"He could sue!" Miles exclaimed, his concern over the case at hand - and a certain brunette officer's behaviour - was building.

"Well what else should I do? Give him a slap on the wrist and send him on his way?!" Nina's voice was raised and she pointed angrily at Reece in the other room. "He obviously knows something!"

"Maybe so, but can't you question him like a usual detective does?" Mark asked quietly, glancing at Nina, then at Miles for assistance – clearly wishing he could withdraw the statement.

"If I was to interrogate him like a 'usual detective' he'll be bloody walking free in 20 bloody minutes! There are hundreds of criminals walking free because they were interrogated by a 'usual detective' like you Mark." She snapped, again blunt and harsh; picking up a coffee from the side and heading back into the room. "Just back off and let me do my job, alright? Both of you."

Mark and Miles fell silent with concern. And for good reason.

"Didn't you get me a drink too?" Reece smirked when Nina re-entered the room. He watched her take a seat with an amused grin and wasn't surprised when she resumed to glare holes into him.

"You're going to tell me what you know." The officer said calmly, tapping her fingers against her cup of coffee. "This is hot, you know."

"You're going to scald me with your coffee? That's, like, police brutality. You can't do that." He leaned back casually in his chair, feigning a fearless attitude.

"Try me." Nina carefully picked up her coffee cup, getting ready to launch it onto her suspect.

"The guy who did it paid me to keep quiet, okay?!" He blurted out in an attempt to make Nina cease fire. "It'll be my neck if I say any more. But I'm no killer I swear."

"I'll have your bloody neck in a minute." She remembered what Miles had said and sighed, deciding to take a slightly softer approach. "Look, I promise you'll be protected if you tell me everything now. If not, you'll be arrested for withholding information."

"It was about 4am when I saw the two guys. I was sleeping on a bench when I heard them argue and woke up. One of the dudes punched the other and he retaliated with a ton of stabs with his knife. I started freaking out because the killer saw me and thought I'd be next. Thank god he just gave me some money and left." Reece's eyes flashed over to the wads of cash in Nina's hands; desperate to get his paycheck for being silence back. Nina realised this. And twigged onto why Reece had been at the park so early in the morning.

"You're homeless…" She bit her lip, thinking hard of how to approach the whole situation. "How about we do a trade? You can have this money back if you help me identify the killer."

Reece shrugged, "I never saw his face. I was too busy crapping myself, y'know?" He sighed, still staring at the money with longing. "But I can try I guess."

Nina took out the case's folder and laid out four mugshots across the table: Robert Murray and the three other convicts that escaped the high security prison. She pointed at the photo of her father. "This is the victim; do you at least recognise him?"

"Yeah that's him." He nodded and looked over the other three photos. "It wasn't the young guy on the right." Reece pointed to the mugshot of a young man with blonde hair and a hard stare.

"I thought you said you didn't see the killer's face?"

"I didn't. But he spoke to me – definitely an older guy." His eyes glanced over the other two photos of two elderly criminals; Nina knew he was trying his best, despite their earlier conflict. He was doing this for his money.

"What did he say to you?" She asked, still following Miles' advice on being a good(ish) cop.

"He just handed me the cash and told me to keep quiet or he'd come back." Reece ran a hand through his hair, becoming stressed out. "I don't know which one it was. If I could hear their voices then maybe I'd know but…"

"Well there's no way I'll be able to get you some voice samples." Despite her anger and hatred for the man sitting across from her, Nina slid the money to him. "Take it and go. As long as you promise to come back if you remember anything else." She raised an eyebrow and Reece nodded in response; he stood up and quickly gathered up his money.

"Maybe you are the good cop after all." He grinned and headed for the door. Nina held her hand up, gesturing for the man to stop for a second. Reece froze at the door as the police officer walked over to him. In one swift move, her hand swept across his cheek. Hard.

"What was that for?!" He exclaimed, holding his face; his left cheek turning scarlet.

"You've been testing my patience for the last half hour." She stated, unlocking the door and setting Reece free. "Get out of my sight."

But as he was leaving, Nina's lips bore a smile. She wasn't sure whether it was because she now had a lead as to who her father's killer was or because Reece was going to be able to sleep easy that night thanks to her. However it was certainly possible that the reason for her smile was simply because she'd carried out her first interrogation process – meaning that she was one step closer to becoming a fully-fledged detective.

As soon as Reece had slunk out of sight, Nina headed through to the back office – only to be welcomed back by two stunned male faces. Clearly the chief prosecutor and the detective both disagreed with Nina's methods of interrogation; even though they had proved effective.

"I didn't see either of you getting information out of that guy." Nina said quickly in an attempt to defend herself (and her job.) Miles was beginning to acknowledge how strongly she felt about her unconventional methods of achieving justice. So he let her be. After all, Nina was right: she'd been the only one to easily crack Reece White after several years of police interviews with him.

That had to make her a good cop. Even though she'd behaved rather badly throughout the morning.

**A/N**

**Thanks for making it to the end. I admit that this chapter isn't too relevant but I felt like it was necessary so I hope you all liked it anyway because I tried my best ;_;**

**Please review or rate or something iI still don't quite know how this site works. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**I'm ill today so I thought I'd write a quick chapter to pass the boredom of being bed-ridden. A couple of familiar faces pop up in this chapter - although you may not be happy to see one of them at the beginning of the chapter haha! Gumshoe's also going to be in this chapter so that's a good enough reason to read I hope.**

Despite her protests, Miles sent Nina home early; wanting to give her some time to grieve – and also to cool off after the heated interrogation process with Reece White. She insisted she was alright and that her bereavement would not interfere with her work but Miles asserted that the police officer leave – it was the only thing Miles felt that he could do to help her after all.

That evening, Nina went back to her noisy apartment block as usual. She passed by the room of the couple on the first floor who always argued and headed up the stairs; greeting Leanne, the single mother of two young children from her floor, as they crossed paths in the hallway; her baby girl was sobbing in her arms whilst her older daughter complained about not being able to find her doll. Nina smiled sympathetically as she passed the woman, recalling how her husband had been killed in a car accident – as opposed to leaving her for another woman, like in the police officer's case. It sounded terrible to think it, and Nina often hated herself because of her thoughts, but she wished Chris Chambers had left her due to death instead of the real reason; her son would've been able to live with her if that had been the case.

When she reached room number 9, Nina saw that a piece of paper had been nailed to her door: an eviction warning. She sighed and ripped it off the door, reading it carefully.

"I'm warning you, you whippersnapper; pay up before the end of the month or you're out!" A voice screeched in her ear; Nina turned around to see her landlady Ms Oldbag standing behind her with anger written all over her face.

The police officer feigned an apologetic smile. "I'm terribly sorry, Ms Oldbag. You see, I had to pay child support a few weeks ago so it left me a bit short." Oldbag simply glared harder at the brunette. "B-But, I can give you ten dollars and…twenty-two cents for the time being." She handed her landlady the note and spare change from her pocket, who snatched it away with vehemence.

"You're lucky I haven't evicted you yet, young lady. Back in my day we paid our monthly rents on time and in full. I ought to kick you to the curb; no other landlord would allow such careless and childish behaviour no would they? And this isn't the first time you've not paid your rent either! It must be because I've got such a kind heart and couldn't bear to see you on the streets. But I'll have you know that—"

"Yes, I'll make sure you get your money. Okay, bye Ms Oldbag." Nina smiled curtly and slammed the door shut, locking the door and resting her head against the wood although she could still hear the vicious landlady ramble on as she went down the hallway. "What am I going to do…?" She whispered to herself while fumbling around for the light switch. The bulb burst.

"Ah shit." Nina cursed and checked her pocket for her iPhone, hoping to use it for a torch. Then she remembered that her mobile phone was now sitting at the bottom of the lake in People Park. In the end, Nina had to resort to lighting the main room in her apartment with a couple of candles – making a mental note to buy a new light bulb the following morning. Feeling peckish, Nina shuffled over to the fridge and examined it for any food she deemed worthy; she was out of ham and milk and the salad she had purchased just two days ago was beginning to go brown. Sighing, the brunette flung the freezer door open and her tired eyes fell upon the only item sitting there: a large tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Ice cream had been a great source of comfort to Nina throughout her life. When she moved to the American high school and was finding it difficult to fit in, she ate ice cream. After her mother's death and father's arrest, she ate ice cream. And throughout her divorce procedure, Nina spent the evenings pigging out on ice cream – that was until she found a greater source of comfort…

With a heavy heart, Nina threw her trenchcoat over the sofa and freed her hair from its tightly-bound ponytail; falling onto the sofa, tired from the eventful day. Even so, she didn't cry. She didn't shed a single tear in mourning for her father. Ultimately, Nina spent the remainder of her evening researching the two main suspects to her father's murder while stuffing her face with mint chocolate chip ice cream – until someone rang her apartment from downstairs. She dragged her feet over to the box and picked up the receiver lazily. "Yeah?"

"Nina pal, it's me." A friendly male voice said on the other end. "I heard what happened, pal…I thought I should come and check on you. Can you buzz me up?"

As much as Nina loved her friend, she wasn't in the mood for company at the moment. Especially from someone as over-protective as Dick Gumshoe. But she knew that nobody else would've made the effort to visit her so late. She unlocked the apartment block door and Gumshoe was outside her room in minutes.

As soon as the door had opened, the detective wasted no time in throwing his large arms around his friend in a bear-like hug. "I'm so sorry for what happened. Your dad was a good man."

Nina smiled and shook her head. "You don't have to humour me. He wasn't a good man, was he?" She sighed and broke the hug, locking her apartment door before flopping back into her sofa crease. "Good men aren't sentenced to life imprisonment..."

"You know he was. And I trust your judgement, pal." Gumshoe insisted, joining her on the sofa.

"Nobody else did. Nobody else does." Nina ran a hand through her messy brunette hair. "I guess it's just me and you, eh Gummy?"

Detective Gumshoe smiled and wrapped an arm over her shoulder, "It'll always be you and I, pal. I'll always be here for you." He hesitated a little before speaking again. "If you want to talk, I'm here to listen."

"How's Missile?" Nina asked quickly, obviously trying to avoid the subject of her dead father.

"He's okay, nothing serious at all. Maggey's looking after him for me right now."

"And how's Maggey, hm?" Nina winked at the detective; she'd been one of many people to sense an ongoing spark between them.

"How are _you_? Maggey is fine but I'm here to see how you're doing." Detective Gumshoe was not as big a fool as he seemed on first meeting.

"I'm perfectly alright." Nina said with a forced smile. "Both my parents are dead and I'm about to get evicted if I don't show some cash soon. Oh, did I mention that Chris and Kelly are engaged?"

Of course poor Gumshoe didn't know what to say. He loved his friend and he wanted to cheer her up but he knew how difficult Nina could be. "…I could always give—"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not borrowing money from you." Nina insisted, with a certain stare. "It wouldn't be right. I won't let you do that."

"Okay…" The detective drifted into silence again for a while. "Mr Edgeworth said you had a dizzy spell earlier. Did you tell him about—"

"No."

"How could you not tell him?" The very idea of secrecy seemed so wrong and disloyal to the detective. Especially if the secrets were being kept from his boss - whom was where his loyalties semeed to lie.

Nina's eyes widened and her voice got slightly louder. A little agitated. "Why do you think?! I hardly know him, he has no right to know! Frankly there are days when I regret telling you…"

"I'm sorry…" Gumshoe said quietly, glancing at the content on Nina's laptop screen and the half-empty ice cream tub. "You're not looking into your dad's death, are you?"

"Yes, is that a problem?" She slammed the laptop shut.

"Yeah because _he's_ one of the two suspects. He's dangerous."

"Who? Stevenson or von Karma?"

"Manfred von Karma." Gumshoe replied with a worried edge to his voice. He knew he couldn't let his friend get involved with Manfred von Karma; nor could she do too much digging into the man's past criminalities. For one thing, she'd uncover cases such as DL-6 and he knew the chief prosecutor wouldn't be too enamoured about that.

"What's wrong with him? I know he's pretty evil-looking but at the end of the day he's just a usual criminal." Nina clearly wasn't fazed by any criminal – murderer or otherwise. "Besides, he may have murdered my father. I can't just stand back and allow him to waltz the streets, putting others in danger."

"Your sense of justice is too strong for your own good."

Nina smiled and rested her head on Gumshoe's shoulder. "I learnt from the best though, didn't I?"

"Nina, I just wish you'd talk to someone. You know I'm useless at cheering you up."

"You know that's not true. You, Dick Gumshoe, are the greatest friend I will ever have. You were there for me during all the times I needed you and I'm just sad that I'll never be able to repay you for that." She stood up and stretched. "You really should stop putting yourself down."

Gumshoe smiled; Nina hadn't realised it but she was an equal figure of support for him. She always knew what to say to lift his spirits.

He just wished that circumstances were different. That he could end the deep sorrow that had taken hold of her.

But in order to do that, Detective Gumshoe would've had to have access to a time machine.

**A/N**

**Hope you liked the chapter! Rest-assured, Oldbag won't be a major character but Gumshoe will be!**

**Thanks for reading and please review if you have the time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

**(I made a serious typo, hence the re-upload of this chapter)**

**I'm being quite productive with this fanfiction - if only I could be this productive with my schoolwork.**

**Basically, I've been trying to speed up the pace a bit since the main story is Miles x Nina and they hardly get along at the moment; so this chapter is like a week in the Ace Attorney world as there's a timeshift halfway through-ish. But it'll make sense as you're reading.**

**Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter and a big shoutout to the 3 people that currently follow this fanfiction because I appreciate it so much. Literally, checking my emails and seeing that people are actually following/faving this makes me really happy! So thank you!**

That morning, Nina entered the LAPD like nothing had happened the day before; she was insistent on pretending that nothing had changed. It was apparent however, that news had spread about Robert Murray being Nina's father; many of the officers either gave her sympathetic glances or stayed well away. She hated people sympathising with her. She wasn't a victim, after all; her father was in the morgue, not her.

The worst moment came, however, when she read the newspaper. Jasper Stevenson, one of the suspects to her father's murder, was dead. Leaving one other suspect remaining.

Manfred von Karma.

Nina knew that Gumshoe had warned her off any research into the convict for a good reason, but she needed to bring him to justice. For Robert Murray, and also for the others that he'd wronged.

Without a word, she drove over to the prosecutor's building in search of Miles; luckily finding him in the parking lot with Detective Gumshoe. "I hope you're not going anywhere without me." She laughed a little and ran over to them, picking up on the tension around them. "What's up?"

Miles cleared his throat; Nina knew what she was about to hear couldn't be good. "I can't have you on the Robert Murray case." He said it quicker than any of them anticipated; making him seem harsher. Gumshoe's head dropped, clearly he'd tried to convince his boss to reconsider.

"What?" Nina seemed more amused than angry. "Y-You can't just kick me off the case! I interrogated a suspect yesterday and I helped uncover the identity of our murderer! It has to be von Karma, so let me help!"

"You're too close to the case, Forester." The chief prosecutor said in an attempt to justify his decision. "I can't risk your emotions getting in the way of our investigation."

"They won't! I'll treat this case like any other, I swear!" She insisted, looking to Gumshoe for support in her argument. Instead, the detective shuffled away, obviously unable to choose between his best friend and his good friend/boss. "I'll bring you tea and scones on a silver tray. I-I'll sort out all the emails that you don't open. Heck, I'll even clean the toilet!"

Miles folded his arms impatiently; clearly his mind had been made up. "Fine." Nina took off her blue police cap and threw it at her boss. "I quit."

"What? Nina, you're not serious!" Gumshoe shouted after her as the now ex-officer stormed back to her own car.

"Oh I'm bloody serious alright." She swung her car door open. "I joined the force to get justice for my dad and now I'm being kicked out of the investigation into his death. I'll return all my uniform tomorrow, but I won't wash it. And I'm keeping my badge to sell on eBay; I'm sure someone would love an authentic police officer's badge and, let's face it, I'll need the money." Quickly, she got into her car and drove away; obviously making her point very clear.

Gumshoe noticed the frown on Miles' face as she sped away from the building – her departure may have been hitting him hard. For one thing, he'd lost a genuinely good worker and the only officer who Reece White would talk to. It really was unfortunate. Maybe because she was also growing on him.

"Why did you send her away, sir? You said it yourself, Nina's a good officer."

"Didn't I make it clear enough? Her father is the victim; therefore she is too close to the case." He rubbed his temples, feeling stressed out already. "Besides, do you think her father would want her digging around like that? She could uncover matters that she may not like and I won't be held responsible for that."

"But why?" Detective Gumshoe certainly was persistent. "For one thing Nina's a grown woman; certainly she's capable of deciding whether she's capable or not."

Miles found Gumshoe's loyalty admirable – although he wasn't going to be swayed.

He'd rather Nina quit the force than get hurt in the process of uncovering her father's killer – and the secrets he may have been keeping.

A week of hard investigation followed; with all available units involved in locating Manfred von Karma. No leads were uncovered in the 7 days and, strangely enough, Miles found himself missing Nina a little bit each day – and wondering what she was now up to.

Although he hadn't heard a word regarding Nina's whereabouts since her unemployment, he'd overheard several conversations about her resignation – many people commenting on how they'd miss having the quirky Englishwoman around. However, the following Tuesday, an exact week after Nina's resignation, Miles heard a conversation regarding Nina that didn't fit the regular pattern.

"I heard she quit because of you – is it true?" An officer with slate black hair asked a taller man in shades – he wasn't wearing a blue police uniform, although his badge was clearly displayed, so he had to be a detective. It took Miles a moment or two to recognise the detective; his dark blonde hair and expensive-casual dress sense made him almost unrecognisable as a figure of authority, even though the chief prosecutor knew that he'd seen the man around on several occasions.

"Yeah that's about right. You know Nina; she couldn't get over the fact that I'd moved on." The detective replied with a lobsided grin. From that remark, Miles knew that the detective was Chris Chambers. Despite himself, Miles chose to remain within earshot of their conversation.

"I heard about you and Kelly, congratulations man." The dark-haired officer whistled. "She'll make a hot wife, that's for sure."

Chris laughed, the sun reflecting off his shades. "She really will: blonde and beautiful. Nina stopped being hot five years ago after Oliver was born. I love the kid but he did ruin his mom's perfect figure – not to mention her old, fun personality. As soon as she became a mom, her fun partying days were over; all she did was nag at me and cook – no, burn – dinner. Don't even get me started on that filthy trenchcoat given to her by senseless Detective Gumshoe…" The two men burst out into fits of laughter – such a sound made Miles angry. Detective Gumshoe may have been known to be naïve at times, but not stupid by any means. Moreover, he thought Nina was rather pleasing on the eye; he didn't think she was plain or of poor-figure by any means. And even if she was, Miles would still have found her to be beautiful. Her personality was more than attractive enough – her beauty was simply a grand bonus.

_What on earth am I thinking?_ _I don't even like her. We're hardly acquaintances._

Even so, Miles felt inclined to stop Chris Chambers' bad-mouthing of the ex-officer.

"Chambers, you're here to work. Not to discuss others behind their backs." Chris looked taken aback, not expecting a lecture from his boss. He raised an eyebrow in amusement at the prospect of getting a verbal warning.

"Oh, Mr E. we're just joking. Besides, Nina's gone now so it's okay if you have anything to say about her too."

Miles frowned and he didn't utter a word.

Chris and the officer snickered, the detective whispering something to his subordinate. "Come on, sir. It's not that hard, you can say anything. Her clothes were always creased and had coffee stains on. Generally, she looked like someone you'd see living on the streets. Her driving was reckless and her mouth was filthy from too much swearing. Even her accent was difficult to understand at times."

The chief prosecutor hated the way that Chambers talked badly about Nina – and as if she had passed away. It was cruel. He was cruel.

"Alright, I have something to say about Forester." Miles started with folded arms and an impatient expression. "She's one of the hardest workers I've known; with both intelligence and a pleasant nature. And I'd much rather trade you for her any day, so stop talking about her in such a cruel manner otherwise I will fire you and replace you with Officer Forester."

Feeling overwhelmed, Miles walked away from Detective Chambers before he had a chance to register what his boss had just said to him. Although he didn't know the exact details of Chris and Nina's trainwreck of a marriage, he wouldn't have been wrong to guess that its failure was more down to his behaviour than Nina's.

And Miles was really starting to realise how much he wanted the English officer to return to the LAPD. Although he also knew that only he could convince her to come back.

This was a very daunting thought indeed.

**A/N**

**Thank you all for reading this far! If you have any ideas or questions or criticisms, please let me know! **

**Thanks and have a lovely day! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**The chapter that I've had planned in my head for months isn't too far away now! Don't worry too much about what happens in this chapter; Mark isn't going to be too important in this fanfiction.**

**But I really hope you all enjoy!**

The next day, whilst on his lunch break, Miles spotted Nina in the local café across the road - obviously by pure coincidence. For a while he watched her; the way she obsessively typed away on her laptop and how she picked up her coffee with her left hand, meaning that her dominant hand had to be her left one. The chief prosecutor also noted how the brunette had tied her hair in a scraggly plait and instead of her usual blue police uniform, Nina was wearing jeans and a hooded jacket – as well as a pair of thick-framed glasses – so she had to be short-sighted as well. He hated to admit it but Miles was learning more about Nina from afar than he ever did during her many years working at the LAPD.

Deciding to be civil, Miles headed across the street and into the coffee shop, with the intention of speaking to Nina and attempting to persuade her to come back to work. When he reached her table, he had to clear his throat quite loudly in order to make his presence known; eventually realising that Nina had her earphones in. She glanced up at him, then back to her laptop screen – earphones still in place.

Miles knew it would've been fruitless, but he had to try talking to her through the blaring music filling her ears. "Nina I—"

"I can't hear you, so don't waste your breath." Nina said bluntly, her earphones still blocking out any sound. He wondered what type of music she was listening to. Which bands did she like? Well, whatever the band, they certainly were rather loud - regardless of the volume Nina had set her music to.

Sighing, Miles took a pen out of his blazer pocket and wrote a message on a napkin, sliding it to the brunette.

_I just want to talk._

Nina raised an eyebrow and scribbled something down on the napkin in response. Miles squinted at her handwriting but was able to make out the sentence.

_I want you to go away. I don't want anything to do with you._

He sighed again and took a seat across from Nina, waiting patiently for a reaction. After five minutes, Nina whipped her headphones out and slammed her laptop shut, revealing a pair of frustrated brown eyes. "For a really intelligent man, you're acting like such a child."

_Of course I am, I know that. It's only because she's being so difficult… _He thought; although the prosecutor wasn't brave enough to say this out loud.

"You're one to talk. I just want to know if you regret your decision to leave the LAPD." He took a deep sigh, bracing himself for Nina's smug smile and Miles hoped she'd say yes and beg him for her job back. Unfortunately Nina smiled and shook her head.

"I like being unemployed. I can dress like a tramp and wear my nerd glasses and there's no Chambers around to mock my every move."

"But how on earth do you expect to earn money?" The chief prosecutor asked; although he knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of Nina's bad books anytime soon.

"I might write a book – an autobiography perhaps. Don't worry, I'll be sure to thank you for pushing me to leave the LAPD as it'll be the reason behind my wildly successful writing career." The brunette smiled and pushed her glasses further up her nose. It was unclear as to whether or not she was serious in her plans to become a writer.

"You can't be serious. What if this spontaneous plan fails?" Miles knew he had to make his opinion clear even if she was merely joking.

"Well…if all else fails I suppose I could rob a bank…"

"W-What?!" Miles exclaimed a little too loudly. Nina laughed again; she had no plans on going back to work and she felt like her ex-boss was finally getting the gist.

"If you come back you can call the shots on Murray's murder case." Miles blurted out without any thought. "You can lead the investigation and even get promoted to detective if you want." He instantly knew that he'd regret saying that.

"You don't get it, do you? I want to work my way up through the ranks through hard work and honesty. I don't want to be bribed into going back." She nodded at the seat where Miles was sat. "I'll actually be on a date five minutes from now so I suggest you vamoose."

_Date? What? With whom?_

Miles couldn't work out why he was suddenly alert. All he knew was that he wanted Nina to go back to work. Even if she had to get involved in the Murray murder case.

"Please, could you at least consider my offer?" He didn't want to sound like he was begging but, in actuality, it was starting to sound that way. The chief prosecutor was becoming desperate.

"If I say yes will you go away?"

_That's a little harsh – am I that bad?_

Miles cleared his throat and nodded. "Does this mean you will consider my proposition?"

But Nina's attention was elsewhere. At the door. Miles turned around to see Mark heading over to the table; his hair was even more slicked back than usual and he'd made the effort to smell slightly more appealing than his usual smell of freshly cut grass – in fact, he smelled too overpowering.

"Mr Edgeworth…it's nice to see you." He said quietly, his gaze wandering over to Nina in her huge glasses and slightly torn jeans.

"Likewise, Detective Baker." Miles said. "May I ask why you're here and not at work?"

Detective Baker shuffled on the spot, looking over to Nina for support. "He's my date, Mr Edgeworth." She smiled and nodded towards the seat vacated by Miles. "Sir, my boyfriend needs to sit down."

Miles blushed deeply and quickly got to his feet so Mark could take his seat. "W-Well, I suppose I should…leave you both to it. Have a nice afternoon."

"Wait a second." Nina quickly handed Miles a black bin bag full of her old police uniforms. "Goodbye, Mr Edgeworth." She said, watching him leave with a sigh.

As soon as Miles had left the café, he turned back to see Nina and Mark laughing and talking like a happy young couple. The chief prosecutor didn't know why, but seeing them together almost killed him. He wished he could've said something, found the right words that would persuade Nina to return to her job at the LAPD. But it was no use; she was just too stubborn. And, although he wasn't sure why, Miles knew that her frustrating behaviour was one of the reasons why she fascinated him so much. Nina was different.

Miles completely ignored the fact that he hadn't eaten lunch and headed back to his office. He was frustrated to see both Detective Gumshoe and Phoenix sitting around on his satin settee. "I haven't got the patience for the two of you right now."

"What happened, Edgeworth? I hear you're attempting to get Forester to come back to work – how's that going for you?" Phoenix laughed a little until Gumshoe warned him to stop with his eyes.

"Did you know that she was…seeing Mark Baker?" Miles asked the detective; frowning slightly when he nodded.

"A-Actually sir, I'm needed at the department so I should go…" Detective Gumshoe mumbled, getting to his feet and wasting no time in leaving both the room and the awkward silence. That just left a certain defence attorney.

After a minute or so, Phoenix spoke up. "You seem pretty upset about Forester and Baker."

"I'm not. Don't be ridiculous."

"There has to be a reason behind this…" Phoenix winked at Miles who gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about, Wright?"

"Don't play stupid, Edgeworth." The attorney couldn't stop smirking. "You're upset because you have a crush on her."

"I certainly do not." Miles insisted, although his voice was hesitant. "And even if I did, I'm too old for her."

"Forester's not a child. She's twenty-nine. I'm certain that makes her old enough to choose her boyfriends." Phoenix flashed Miles a smirk. "Besides, you're not that much older than her at all so stop being dramatic." He added.

"We also have very little in common, I'm sure."

"Well they do say that opposites attract." The attorney, as always, was doing his best to bluff his way to the truth. Although it seemed like he was the only one aware of Miles' deeply buried feelings for Nina.

"Wright—"

Phoenix certainly couldn't be faulted on his ability to push for the truth. "You didn't reply last week when I asked you: do you think Nina's attractive?"

"I suppose so…" Miles sighed and rubbed his temples, his headache only getting worse.

The attorney's face was smug; he was getting somewhere now, the surface of Miles' feelings had been touched. "And I bet she'd be happy if you asked her out—"

"Please stop talking Wright. Everything that you're saying is crazy and wrong and nothing more than a story crafted in your mind. I do not like Nina."

A large smile spread from ear to ear on Phoenix's face. "You called her _Nina_."

Miles blushed a little and hung his head. "I can hardly tolerate her, let alone love her."

Phoenix stood up to leave. "Okay, if you insist. But I bet that, within the next few days, you'll have come to your senses and realised that your ex-officer is the woman of your dreams." He grinned and headed for the door. "I'll even bet my attorney's badge on it."

**A/N**

**So...Nina is short-sighted and left-handed. I'm not sure that I've decided what music she listens to but it was definitely a rock band.**

**Also don't worry about Mark being in the way. Or the fact that our brunette is unemployed. Nina does have a few tricks up her sleeve...**

**Until the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N **

**Recently I've been getting such lovely feedback (via reviews/follows etc) and I just want everyone to know how grateful I am because I wasn't sure if people would like this. It means a lot to me so wow thanks a bunch. I also have ideas for another fanfiction but obviously I'm going to write more chapters for this before I start multitasking because it's no more than a thought right now because this one will be my main priority. **

**This chapter is basically Nina and Ema which was quite fun to write. Also Ema and Apollo are a couple in this because I thought the ship was cute and it worked better, in terms of future chapters, to put them together. **

**Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy this instalment that I wrote last weekend!**

After a few hours of talking – and yearning on Mark's part – the couple decided it was time to return to work, or in Nina's case, daytime television.

"So is this a permanent thing? Us, I mean." Mark asked as they left the café, eager to walk her home even though it was the late afternoon and as light as ever outside.

"I guess so, yeah." Nina replied, only giving the detective half of her attention. "Listen, you don't have to walk me home. I'm going to see Ema since she's coming back from vacation today."

"I can always drive you there instead." He suggested, talking Nina's hand. "Please, I insist."

"Well, I was going to walk back to my apartment and get my car so I could drive to the supermarket before going to Ema's. Really I'll be fine from here."

But Mark was persistent to spend as much time as possible with his girlfriend of a few hours. "I'll drive you back to your apartment."

"But it's just a few streets away."

"It's no trouble, come on." Mark smiled and led Nina to his car, being so gallant as to open the car door for her before getting into the car himself and driving off. "Do you want to meet up tomorrow? I can take you to the theatre and give you some more information about the Robert Murray case."

Nina smiled, a little guiltily. "Alright, that sounds nice."

"Mr Edgeworth seemed a little miffed today." Mark stated, taking his eyes off the wheel to look at Nina with yearning.

"Did he? I didn't notice…" The brunette replied with heavy sarcasm that Mark didn't detect.

"This is going to sound stupid but I've liked you for a long time." The detective blurted out, moving his hand to touch Nina's. "I always thought that you were beautiful and smart and that you deserved better than Chambers."

"Thank you." Nina quickly moved her hand away. "Just make a left. I live at the end of this street."

"Sure…" Mark whispered a little dejectedly, pulling up outside Nina's apartment block. The brunette wasted no time in getting out of the car. Mark got out too. "Do you want me to go up with you?"

Nina shook her head and feigned a cough. "I'm not feeling too well, I should probably go and lie down in a dark room for a few hours."

The detective nodded but didn't move; he was waiting for something. And it dawned on Nina what he wanted. Sighing she pecked his cheek with a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Smiling, Mark nodded and got back into his car, waving goodbye as he drove out of sight.

"…Mark Baker, are you serious?"

Nina turned around to see her good friend Ema Skye sat on the apartment steps, clearly she'd been waiting for Nina to get home. "I thought you had good taste, I'm quite disappointed. And I've been calling you for the last half an hour, why haven't you been answering?"

"Don't start, Em." Nina insisted, heading over to the door and opening it for the two of them. "And my mobile is long gone."

Ema Skye was another of Nina's detective friends; yet another person whom she'd learned all of the tricks of the trade from. The two women had instantly bonded over their love of food and their hatred for current music – i.e. The Gavinners and their comeback music. The pair were also the culprits behind many famous pranks around the precinct; like the replacement of sugar with salt – resulting in dozens of salty cups of tea – and the many faulty office chairs that collapsed as soon as one of the officers took a seat. However, most of their 'harmless' pranks were aimed at Detective Chambers following his affair, including the stink bombs in Chambers' office (that spread throughout the LAPD) and the photos of Chris with his many different mistresses than Nina and Ema had stuck on the walls in all floors of the department. Surprisingly enough, nobody had lectured them on their childish shenanigans, although at least half of the precinct had a feeling that the grumpy detective and the quirky officer were the culprits. It was just (mostly) harmless fun after all.

"So did you or did you not just kiss Mark Baker?" Ema asked in disgust, following her friend up to her apartment. "Because, scientifically speaking, that's just bad."

"Things are a little more complicated than that." Nina unlocked the door and Ema entered after her.

"You're not a couple are you?" The detective's eyes widened when Nina didn't reply. "Ugh, how could you do that? Weedy, wimpy Mark Baker, really?"

"Ema I know what I'm doing." She stated firmly, sitting tiredly on the sofa. "Anyway, how was Italy?"

Her friend smiled and joined her on the settee. "It was great. Me and Apollo ate so much pizza and visited the science museum and Apollo got drunk – I wish you could've seen him Nina!" Ema laughed out loud, prompting Nina to do the same. "How have things been over here anyway? And why the hell aren't you at work?"

"I quit." The Englishwoman shrugged this off like it was nothing.

"What! Why would you do that?!" She couldn't believe it. A lot had happened during her vacation.

"The amazing chief prosecutor Edgeworth kicked me off the investigation into my dad's death." Nina explained with some vehemence.

"Wait…your dad died?" Ema asked, finding it difficult to keep up - and to believe what Nina was saying due to her calm manner. "Nina, I'm so sorry."

"It doesn't matter, just keep up with what I'm saying." Again, she shrugged off the recent events like they were of little importance. "So I can't get justice for my father or find his killer – who is Manfred von Karma by the way."

By the end of her explanation, Ema had whipped out a bag of snackoos and was furiously munching on them. "I still think that you shouldn't have left the LAPD." She said through a mouthful of snackoos.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Ema!" Nina exclaimed, dipping her hand into the bag and taking a couple of snackoos for herself. Ema snatched the bag back possessively and shrugged.

"I just don't think it was wise to leave; especially since you've always wanted to be a detective."

"I can find other ways. Besides, you didn't even want to be a detective and they handed you the job on a silver plate." Nina's comment made Ema furrow her brow in frustration.

"I'll have you know that I will get the forensics job one day." She carried on eating at a furious pace. "I would gladly give you my job. Then you could have the joy of spending every day with that glimmerous fop."

"And I would gladly take that job. Mr Gavin surely can't be as bad as that pretentious douchebag I had to work with." Nina retorted, holding out her hand for more snackoos. "I actually thought he was nice, you know? But he wasn't anything like the guy you never stopped talking about over the years." She sounded disappointed and Ema raised an eyebrow.

"You have a crush on him…"

"Eh? Why do you think that?" Nina chuckled and pushed her glasses further onto her nose.

Ema grinned, "He's dashing and intellectual – and single. Seems to me like he's your type."

Nina shoved Ema away playfully. "Not to mention rude and conceited. I wasn't even aware I had a 'type'."

"Mr Edgeworth is not rude at all! He may come across as aloof at times but he doesn't mean to be! And I will not have you bad-mouth him." Ema objected; she was very defensive over the chief prosecutor indeed.

The Englishwoman rolled her eyes and stood up. "Oh please, you sound just like Gumshoe."

"Maybe that's because it's the truth and you're just being harsh." Ema gave her friend a wink.

"If he's so amazing why don't you dump Apollo and date him…" She mumbled in response, folding her arms across her chest to further show her frustration.

"Stop acting childish. Besides, I think that Mr Edgeworth is highly suitable for you." Ema said, still trying to persuade her friend to give the prosecutor a chance. "Far more suitable than Mark Baker will ever be. He's just clingy and creepy."

"At least he's nice enough to give me information regarding the murder of my father...unlike highly suitable Mr Edgeworth." Nina stressed the point of Miles being rude to her. "Mine and Mark's relationship won't be a permanent thing anyway, so don't pay it too much thought."

Ema thought for a moment, then she realised what Nina meant. "You're using him for information? Nina, that's pretty cruel; Mark really likes you."

"And I really like him…just as a friend." Nina bit her lip guiltily. "Don't tell him, will you?"

"Of course I won't but you really should sort this out quickly because, as much as I dislike Baker, it is kinda cruel to play with his emotions." The detective stood up and groaned. "I've got to go anyway. I promised the fop I'd be in to help with the cases I missed."

"Alright. Have fun." Nina said, hugging her friend.

"Just think about what I said…about Baker and Mr Edgeworth." She replied, hugging Nina in return before breaking away and heading for the door.

"Since when have you told me what is morally correct?" Nina smirked as her friend left. "Maybe being in a relationship is making you soft."

Ema stuck her tongue out, "you'll be eating those words when you start dating Mr Edgeworth." Upon saying those words, Ema left quickly before Nina could hurl words of protest and indignation at her. Nina's face dropped. She much preferred it when Ema was grumpy.

_Me and Mr Edgeworth. The Italian food must've gotten to Ema's head. Even if I did like him it's not like he'd look twice at someone like me._

Nina threw off her hooded jacket and headed for the freezer. _Great, no ice cream. _She was almost surprised that she was once again out of ice cream; completely forgetting that she'd eaten a full tub the day before. Sighing in defeat, Nina walked into her bedroom and peeled back the large _Fall out Boy_ poster that was stuck above her bed; glancing over the bulletin board that had been hidden behind it. She took out the crumpled notes that she'd shoved in her pocket after her date with Mark and pinned them beside the other newspaper articles, photographs and messy notes she had gathered. Next, she took out a red _sharpie _pen and began circling several areas on the map of the city of Los Angeles, humming a tune as she carefully drew circles around several streets within the main city. When she'd finished, Nina stepped off her bed to admire her handiwork – not just on the map, but on the whole board – a lot of effort and research had gone into it. The mugshot in the middle of her board made her shiver slightly; it was eerily unsettling and almost as if the man's eyes were watching her.

"von Karma...you son of a bitch…" She muttered, staring hard at the photograph before pinning her poster back up. As much as she loved Gumshoe and Ema, Nina knew she wouldn't be able to tell her friends about her own private investigation into her father's murder case and Manfred von Karma in general as they'd have instantly tried to talk her out her plans – or Detective Gumshoe would've told the chief prosecutor who would have certainly disapproved.

Nina couldn't risk anyone else getting involved.

Instead, she decided to call her brother to finally discuss their father's death.

**A/N**

**Nina's brother still doesn't have a name yet; I'll be sure to give him one soon because it's likely he'll be quite important if I stick to my original plan. Nina also listens to rock bands such as Fall out Boy because I think they're brilliant and why not have their poster as a cover for Nina's secret investigation board (or whatever the proper term is.) But I don't own their music or band for disclaimer purposes. Additionally, I thought it'd be amusing to have Nina liking rock music since it's unlikely that Miles would've heard of many of the bands she listens to, haha.**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a lovely day/evening ^^**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

**10 days since my last update, sorry! You guys got 3 chapters last week because I had a feeling I'd be too busy what with my hiking and homework. But to redeem myself, this chapter is probably one of the longest ones I've written so far.**

**Basically, Miles is feeling jealous of Mark Baker and after a lot of denial, he makes a significant realisation. **

Miles hadn't stopped thinking about what Phoenix had said all evening and during the days that followed. Did he really have feelings for Nina? And if he did, what could he possibly do to resolve the issue?

She and Mark had been seeing each other every day since they had gotten together – and everyone certainly knew as such. The detective had told almost everyone he saw about Nina and the places they'd gone together; whether talking to an officer at the LAPD or the postman, Mark had made sure to make their business everyone else's too. It was becoming evident that he was very fond of the Englishwoman – which was severely getting under the chief prosecutor's skin. But of course he was clueless as to why their relationship aggravated him so.

That morning, Miles watched in annoyance as Mark handed Detective Gumshoe a catalogue of sorts, pointing to a photo on one of the pages. "That's the one. Do you think she'll like it?"

Gumshoe's face was blank and he shrugged, clueless. Upon closer inspection, Detective Baker was holding a jewellery magazine and was showing Gumshoe a picture of a lavish necklace.

"Detective Baker, I hardly think that this has anything to do with a case?" Miles blurted out before he could stop himself; subconsciously glaring at the detective.

"I'm sorry sir. I'll get back to work if you tell me what you think?" He handed the chief prosecutor the jewellery catalogue. "I want to get Nina a present to celebrate our two week anniversary. I'm taking her out to dinner at that expensive French restaurant tonight, then I'm going to ask her to move in with me."

Miles carefully looked over the picture; completely ignoring what the lovestruck detective was saying. Imagining how the necklace would suit Nina. How the silver would complement the black dress she'd be wearing and hug her neck in a way most sophisticated. How the diamonds would catch the light and cause her to stand out from the rest – even though she already did.

"I was wondering if I could take an hour off to go and buy it for her?"

"No." Miles snapped quickly in response in his own subconscious attempt to sabotage their relationship. He mentally slapped himself afterwards, of course.

"Why not?" Mark retorted, a peeved tone to his voice. In fact, he was shocked.

_How on earth am I supposed to respond?!_

"…Because I need you to fill me in on the Murray case, pal." Detective Gumshoe spoke up in an attempt to dig his boss out of a constantly deepening hole. Miles owed that man a pay rise for his creative thinking.

"But you've been here all week…" Mark said, confused and frustrated.

"I, uh, lost my files…?" Gumshoe scratched the back of his neck in his attempt to seem clumsy and clueless for the benefit of the chief prosecutor.

"I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow, Gumshoe."

"I'd really appreciate it if you could help me today, pal." Detective Gumshoe thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'll be sure to tell Nina how helpful you're being with me."

Mark sighed and nodded, "I guess that necklace can wait. I'll meet you here at 12:10 Gumshoe." He clearly was disappointed.

As soon as Mark was out of earshot, Miles turned to Gumshoe with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"It's okay Mr Edgeworth, sir. I know you're jealous of Baker and Nina." He said it so casually that Miles couldn't believe it.

"Pardon?!"

_Of course Wright would have something to do with this. And if Gumshoe knows, who else has he told?!_

"You have feelings for Nina, don't you, pal? I can't wait to tell her—"

"I can assure you that whatever Wright has said to you is simply fiction." Miles insisted, faking a calm manner in order to draw suspicion away from himself. "A-And you certainly cannot tell her!"

"Why not? If it's not true I'm sure she'd laugh about this." The detective paused and smiled, "unless it's true?"

"Detective Gumshoe, would you like a pay deduction? I don't have any feelings for that infuriating woman, do I make myself clear?"

But Miles knew that he was lying.

He knew that he was kidding himself. Something wasn't right; his routine hadn't been the same since the day he met Nina a few weeks before. Phoenix had been correct in his assumption. And Miles knew he had to do something to end these feelings.

Despite himself, Miles knew that he had to prove to himself – and everyone else – that he didn't love Nina in any way. On his way home from the prosecutor's building, he decided to drive through the city, in the hopes that he'd catch a glimpse of Nina and Mark together; therefore proving his lack of jealousy or romanticised feelings. He drove through the bright lights and bustling streets, imagining how he and the brunette Englishwoman would walk through the city after seeing a theatrical show or after dining at the best restaurant in Los Angeles. She'd hold onto his arm and laugh and smile along; glowing radiantly in the summer's full moon.

And just as he was attempting to shake these thoughts away, Miles saw her. She did indeed look beautiful, but the imaginary giggles and grins could not be seen. Instead, Nina was walking away from the restaurant, with Mark Baker at her heels desperately. "Can't we just…talk? I'm sorry if I came on too strong!"

"Mark, I'm sorry but I think we should call it a day." Nina said, still walking away.

"Why? What have I done wrong?" He asked, still persistent. "If you don't like the necklace I can buy you something else."

Nina stopped and shook her head, avoiding the detective's gaze. "I don't want anything from you." She mumbled guiltily, wrapping her shawl further around her blue dress.

"Nina, just talk to me. Please, I don't know what else I can do, I—"

"Just go home Mark." Nina sighed, holding her palm over her head before turning on her heels.

"You're dumping me?!" He exclaimed, still following close behind.

"We were never even together. I lied."

Mark's face crumpled and looked as if he would cry. "W-What…? Why would you do that?"

She shrugged, "I needed information regarding my father's case – moreover, on Manfred von Karma."

"You bitch! You knew I liked you and you played me for a fool! You've been using me and you don't even care, do you? You're not even sorry!" He shouted, his hands shaky and eyes about to tear up. "You're cold, cruel and unfeeling! And it's no wonder that Chambers had to find comfort with someone else."

Nina's jaw dropped. For one thing, she'd have never imagined that such hurtful words could spill from the lips of Mark Baker. He'd also deeply offended her. Hence why Nina's next move was her palm – hard – against the detective's cheek. "I may be many things but I was a good wife to him." She said firmly, stepping away from Mark before storming down the street.

Normally, Detective Baker would've resumed chasing Nina down the sidewalk, but after her behaviour towards him, he decided to leave her. Of course he still loved her but, like he'd said, she had indeed played him for a fool. Instead, the – usually kind – detective headed back to his car and drove off, leaving the brunette to make her own way home.

After a few minutes of walking, Nina gave up, slumped onto a bench at the bus stop and let the tears fall. Luckily for her, Miles, after witnessing the event unfold, was slowly driving up to her, pulling up at the bus stop. He reached over and opened the passenger door. "Would you like me to drive you home?"

She furiously wiped her eyes clear and shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're aware that the next bus won't be here for another 40 minutes?"

"I'll get a taxi then." Nina answered starkly, looking around the street for one.

"Stop being stubborn Forester, I'm hardly that bad." Miles sighed and forced a smile.

"Fine. But one word about me returning to the precinct and I will jump out." She hid a smile and got into the passenger seat of Miles' sports car. "I didn't think I'd be sitting in this swanky car again."

Miles began driving again once Nina had buckled up, attempting to make small talk to prove that the 'situation' between them was normal – in fact, non-existent. "How was your date with Baker?" He asked, deciding to take the casual, I-didn't-witness-what-just-happened approach.

"We decided to call it quits. He and I weren't going to last anyway…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "…He called me cold, can you believe that?" A small chuckle escaped her lips as she rested her head against the car window, tired and troubled.

Although Miles hadn't heard what Mark had shouted at Nina, he'd assumed that it was something along those lines as he looked depressed while laying into her. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Believe me, he did." The brunette sighed. "And rightly so."

"I know that's not true. You've got a lovely personality…" Miles drifted off, realising what he was saying. "W-When you're not being stubborn."

"You don't have to humour me. I know people at the precinct have been talking about me. Mocking me and all." Nina closed her eyes. "Do people really think that I'm a heartless bitch?" She whispered, her voice shaky.

Miles couldn't deny that he had indeed heard several people at the LAPD refer to Nina in the past in similar terms, but of course he couldn't confirm this to her. His silence was enough to give her the impression though.

"How can they think that I don't feel? That I-I haven't been grieving for my dad every day since he died…" She blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I almost drove to the prison today, to see my dad. I got in the car and started the engine before I remembered. I remembered that h-he was gone and that there's nothing I can d-do. Only four people attended his funeral, you know. Me, Gumshoe and two of my dad's old work friends. And Chris won't let me see my son because he thinks I'll do something stupid like run off with him. I've not seen Oliver in weeks; can anyone even imagine how that makes me feel? Of course I can feel, but I just wish I didn't have to. I'd rather be the heartless bitch because at least I could be a little happy."

Miles knew Nina was really upset but he didn't know how to comfort her. Then she buried her face in her hands and began to cry. Something which Miles guessed Nina had been holding in for days. After a minute of silence on the chief prosecutor's part, he decided to pull his car up in a safe place and switched the engine off. Reluctantly, he patted the sobbing brunette's shoulder as a comforting gesture and she looked at him in surprise before hugging him tightly. "I-I'm sorry…"

If anyone else had been crying into his expensive blazer and cravat, Miles would have flipped. But this was different. He knew that Nina needed someone to comfort her, to tell her that everything would work out for the best. She was all alone, after all.

Instead, he carefully moved his arms around Nina in order to hug her in return; the feeling was strange but warm just the same. He didn't know what to say so he just hugged the brunette while she finished off the last of her tears.

Although the chief prosecutor didn't realise it then, the reason behind his barrage of feelings became apparent that night when he was lying awake in bed into the late hours. Miles figured out why he'd constantly been concerned for Nina, why he felt jealous of Mark Baker and why he'd almost felt like his own heart had been ripped from his chest when Nina had cried a river in the passenger seat of his sports car.

Miles had fallen in love with her. And it terrified him.

**A/N**

**So I hope y'all liked this chapter. Although I hope it didn't feel too rushed!**

**I'm just trying my best to develop Nina's character as much as possible before the main stuff happens. Mark will only appear once or twice now. Told you he wouldn't be important.**

**I'm excited to write the next few chapters though - the drama will be building haha!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**I hope you all had a great halloween!**

**When writing this I felt like it was time that Miles and Nina became friends of sorts - although I've been having a bit of writer's block this week, hence why it's taken me a while to finish this chapter. But I hope you find it to be a good chapter and if so please review if you have the time!**

Now that Miles was able to admit to himself that he did indeed have feelings for Nina Forester, he'd been feeling a lot better; even more so now that Mark and Nina were no longer dating. It meant that he could have a chance with her.

But of course he could never profess this love to the beautiful brunette.

He didn't know how to possibly display affection towards a woman; how to make her happy and to take all of her fears away. This was the first time Miles had felt this way about anyone. Especially someone as stubborn as Nina.

Deciding to attempt to worm his way back into her good books, Miles decided to send the ex-officer an email, since she had yet to replace her mobile phone – and because he didn't want to have to mumble his words in an anxious, lovesick voice. He was sat at his desk for twenty minutes, staring desperately at the laptop screen in the hopes that a friendly email would materialise. It was times like these when the chief prosecutor wished he could borrow an idea or two from his childhood friend Larry Butz; the man would have already arranged to go on a date with Nina if he was in the same unfortunate position. Miles sighed in defeat and closed his laptop, the right words seemed so far out of reach.

However, it seemed like lady luck was in a good mood that day when Miles' phone rang – and Nina's unique accent could be heard on the other end.

"Hey Mr Chief Prosecutor, it's Nina Forester."

Miles smiled to himself, "Hello Miss Forester. How can I help you?"

"I, uh, think I left my purse in your car last night." She laughed, "I trust you haven't taken it and robbed me of the $5 that was in it?"

"N-No, of course not..! I wasn't even aware that y-you left your purse behind."

"It was a joke, I know you wouldn't steal from anyone." Again, Nina laughed. "I was just wondering if I could come down to your office and get it?"

The chief prosecutor felt his face flush. "Uh…I-I can always...come to you?"

"Are you sure you're not too busy?"

"It's no trouble, I can be there in an hour if that's alright with you?" Miles was trying his hardest to keep his voice calm and even.

"That's fine, thank you. See you soon." And then she hung up.

Miles stood up quickly; he'd have to make sure he looked presentable when he went to Nina's apartment. Making his way to the parking lot, he climbed into the front seat and checked his reflection in the overhead mirror; reluctantly deciding to ruffle his hair and remove his waistcoat, even though both actions almost killed the formal-loving part of him. If a colleague would've seen him now they'd have either laughed or complimented his change in appearance – although Miles prayed that neither would've occurred.

Driving over to Nina's, the chief prosecutor had never been so nervous. It wasn't even like he was about to ask her on a date – or was he? It wasn't impossible to do so but Miles wasn't even prepared. He should've come armed with flowers or chocolates and his appearance still didn't look right. Casual just didn't suit him.

Amongst the chaos of preparing to see the brunette, Miles had forgotten the purpose of the drive to her apartment: the purse. Once he had arrived outside Nina's house after 40 minutes of panicking in his office and panicking in his car, Miles checked under the seat for Nina's purse; sure enough, he found it, although the contents had spilled out onto the car floor. Amongst these was the $5 note Nina had spoken of, her driving licence, painkillers of some sort and a small photo of a young boy in school uniform – presumably Nina's son Oliver. Miles put these safely back in the purse before glancing at himself in the mirror yet again – still anxious about his appearance not being casual. It pained him to do so but the chief prosecutor removed his cravat from around his neck in an attempt to seem much less formal. It did work. But Miles almost felt naked without all his layers of clothing.

He sighed to himself, feeling foolish to even believe that he'd have a chance at winning Nina's affections, before he buzzed up to her apartment from the ground floor. "H-Hello Miss Forester, it's Miles Edgeworth…"

"Hey there Mr Chief Prosecutor, come on up. It's number nine." She unlocked the door and Miles headed up the stairs – staying away from the elevator – and was outside Nina's door in just under 5 minutes. In fact, she was waiting outside the door for him. "What took you so long? Is the lift not working? And what happened to your hair? Is it windy outside?"

"I-I have your purse…" Miles handed it to Nina in order to change the conversation, feeling a little disheartened.

"Thank you." She smiled at the man in front of her. "Would you like to come in for some tea or orange juice?"

Miles nodded, his face bearing a slight hint of a blush.

"Great, well come on in. Make yourself at home and all that jazz." Nina held the door open for Miles and he followed her inside; she seemed like her usual chirpy self and it was almost as if her vulnerable side hadn't been revealed to him the night before.

The first thing Miles picked up on was that Nina was quite messy; either she didn't have the time to clean or she didn't have the tolerance. Either way, the scattered cds across the coffee table and the cardboard boxes scattered around the floor certainly painted a picture of the brunette. He glanced over some of the albums, only recognising the names of a couple of the bands and even then he'd never listened to any of their songs.

"You'll have to excuse the mess." Nina called from the other side of the room, noticing Miles' glances. "I'm deciding to sell lots of old things since I've not got enough room in this pokey apartment." She explained, walking over with two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits balanced on a silver tray. She blinked at him, glancing him over. "Where's your cravat?"

"Oh…t-they were all being washed today…" Miles lied quickly, blushing under Nina's gaze.

"That's a shame. I like your cravats; they're very posh and make you look dapper even if they look like frilly tissues."

Miles couldn't help but smile at Nina's realness. As always she was being genuine in everything she was saying. And she didn't care so long as she spoke the truth.

She joined him on the sofa and handed him his tea, which was in a _Homer Simpson _mug. "Yeah, Chris took the fine china so all my current kitchen ware was bought before I even met him." She held up her mug with _Mickey Mouse's_ face on it. "I think my dad bought me this one almost fifteen years ago, I've only just started drinking from it." Nina sighed, "I know you probably don't want to believe it because the law is superior and all but my dad was a good man. He was a good father and husband and definitely not a murderer." She smiled sadly, "but you didn't come here to hear that. Although if you came for good company, you might be a bit disappointed."

The chief prosecutor shook his head, "I do enjoy talking to you. Your anecdotes are particularly intriguing." He'd paid attention to every word that Nina had said; drawn in by her genuine smile and soft accent.

Nina laughed, clearly amused by his comment. "I wouldn't call them intriguing. They're daft and immature; I'd have thought you wouldn't approve, Mr Chief prosecutor." She then widened her eyes and smacked Miles on the knee. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time me and my brother climbed into a port-a-potty and rolled down a hill?"

Miles was stunned but couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "That's…that's so amusing yet so stupid."

"To be fair, we were wasted." Nina added with a smirk. "My arm was in a cast for weeks after that."

The pair of them couldn't stop laughing as Nina told Miles stories from her adolescence regarding late-night parties and embarrassing moments; the tea and biscuits had soon gone and Miles had forgotten all about work.

"So what about you?"

Miles blushed, her question taking him aback. "What about me?"

"I hardly know anything about you. You know all about my daily misfortunes and yet I know very little about you."

"There's hardly anything worth saying. I'm just the chief prosecutor for the district. I like tea and chess, that's really all there is to know." Miles couldn't stop stuttering; he didn't want to tell Nina too much about his well-concealed past, she'd have treated him completely different because of it. Telling her would make him weak.

"Well I think there's much more to you than meets the eye, Mr Chief Prosecutor." Nina smiled and tilted her head to the side. "I'm sure I'll crack the code sooner or later."

Just then, Miles' mobile phone rang: Detective Gumshoe. He excused himself and answered it impatiently. "What is it Detective?"

"Mr Edgeworth, you should've been at the prosecutor's meeting twenty minutes ago! Where are you sir?"

"I'm…at Miss Forester's apartment." He mentally groaned, knowing that Gumshoe and everyone else would make fun of him later.

"Are you two dating sir?!" Gumshoe exclaimed on the other end, clearly excited by this fantasy.

"Of course not, Detective. I'll be right there."

"But, Mr Edgeworth sir—" Miles hung up quickly.

"You're busy huh?" Nina stood up, "I'd expect nothing more from Mr Chief Prosecutor."

"You're always welcome to visit me at the Prosecutor's office if you have the time…" He smiled and set down his mug, preparing to leave.

"I'm still looking for a job so I've got all the time in the world." She went over to the door to see Miles out. "Good luck with your meeting, Mr Chief Prosecutor."

"Thank you. Good day Miss Forester." Miles headed out of the door and began walking down the corridor, smiling contently at how the afternoon had gone.

"It's Nina..!" She called after him, a grin was on the brunette's face when he turned around to look at her.

Miles was so pleased with how things had gone; he'd remained calm for the most part and he and Nina seemed to be on good terms once again. Soon she could be offered her job back at the LAPD and hopefully she'd say yes.

Once he'd arrived back at the prosecutor's building – almost an hour late for the meeting – Miles was almost pounced on by an enthusiastic Gumshoe. "Mr Edgeworth sir, the meeting had to be cancelled but how is Nina? Did you tell her how you feel?"

"Detective, for the final time, Miss Forester and I will never have that kind of a relationship. It's strictly an acquaintanceship that we share." Even Miles himself knew that he was completely lying at this point.

"Sir, you don't have to lie to me." Detective Gumshoe smiled and patted his boss' shoulder. "I just want you and Nina to be happy."

What Gumshoe had said stuck with Miles until the early hours of the following morning. Did the detective really think that he was the right person to make his best friend happy? After hours of thinking the whole situation through, the chief prosecutor decided that he'd take Nina out for a nice meal during his lunch hour; she clearly hadn't eaten well in weeks, nor had she left the neighbourhood for a long while – so Miles knew that the brunette would be appreciative of the offer of good food and a nice chat. Maybe more? Perhaps Miles could talk to Nina about the possible spark between them; the one that Gumshoe and Phoenix and apparently half the precinct had picked up on. Well, one step at a time.

However, less than 24 hours later, said steps became miles.

Nina Forester was officially pronounced missing at 10:29pm the following night.

**A/N**

**I hope this chapter was cute and all. Well, apart from the last part of course. I do think that Nina's whereabouts are a little too obvious though but I'm not that creative so I apologise for that. Still, there will be plenty of drama during the next few chapters. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**Hi everyone! Hope you've all had a good week. I've been ehh in the romance department: had to friendzone a guy that would not take ****no**** for an answer even after 48 hours (a bit of a Mark Baker there oops.) **

**I also found out that my school's sixth form has a fundraising fancy dress parade next week (short notice!) so me and my friends are doing a group cosplay of The Walking Dead - I'm going to be a badass Maggie Greene which will be fun! And hopefully our group wins!**

**There you go, a bit about my week because I want to be a likeable(?) and relatable(?) author I suppose.**

**Anyway, this chapter will feature a day of investigating Nina's disappearance around 38-48 hours after she was last seen. I want to speed up Nina's vanishing act since, again, it's not going to be a main focus within this fanfiction - just a dramatic event that will push Miles and Nina closer! It's about time right?**

**But thank you to all the followers/favouriters new and old! It's greatly appreciated to know that people actually like what I'm doing so cheers!**

Since her disappearance, Miles had been shaken; he had hardly slept and was refusing to do so until Nina had been found safe and sound. He could hardly believe that she was missing – and that he was the last person to have seen her. At his request, a good quarter of the division had become dedicated to locating the ex-officer; although some were more than willing to help due to their respect for Nina. Ema had been in an even grumpier mood than usual and Detective Gumshoe was even more determined than normal. And as for Detective Chambers, well he was his typical cocky self; not even a slight bit concerned for the wellbeing of the mother of his child, treating the whole investigation as a joke. Nina could have been seriously hurt – or worse – and her ex-husband didn't even feel remotely worried. Miles hadn't even been able to take Nina out for lunch, to give her a good meal and good company before telling her how he felt. That he loved her. If she came back harmed or dead, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

Miles and the LAPD spent the day searching Nina's apartment and interviewing her fellow tenants in order to find any clues as to what happened to the brunette. The chief prosecutor had also scheduled a meeting with the landlady of the apartments, whom arrived much earlier than arranged, pushing her way through the officers that were crowded around the building. Her glare and frustrated snare turned into a pair of doey eyes and a smile as wide as the ocean.

"Edgey-Poo!" Oldbag called, wasting no time in making it to Miles' side.

"Ms Oldbag…what a pleasant surprise…" Miles lied, feigning joy at seeing the dreaded woman.

"I cannot believe you're here. Why haven't you called or written? Did you get my gifts?" The landlady couldn't stop smiling or blushing; in fact, her eyes were practically heart-shaped.

"Ahem, Ms Oldbag, I was hoping to talk to your about one of your tenants."

"Nina Forester right?" She frowned, hands on her hips. "What on earth has that whippersnapper done now? Honestly, that young lady has caused more than enough trouble around here. Back in my day we—"

Miles decided to cut in; he couldn't stand to hear anyone speaking of Nina in a negative light – especially now that she had disappeared. "Miss Forester is missing, Ms Oldbag. I wanted to ask when you last saw her."

"I haven't seen her for days. If you ask me, she's ran away to avoid paying the rising rent she owes me."

"Are you sure? Please, Ms Oldbag, I really need you to be positive in what you're saying." Since the cranky landlady had a habit of missing out key details in the past, Miles knew that he had to push for the whole truth in order to paint an accurate picture of Nina's actions over the days prior to her mysterious disappearance.

She seemed to be genuinely thinking hard at this point – something which stretched far beyond what had happened in the courtroom during past cases. "I saw her a few nights ago, it was just before lunch. She was on the phone in the hallway. I only passed her briefly so it might not have even been her." Miles recalled that Nina had called him on the phone at around 11 so Oldbag's story almost certainly matched that of the reality. "I also saw her the day she vanished. It would have been about 6 o'clock when I saw her, running down the hall and driving off in that rusted little bug of hers."

Miles didn't want to sound improper but he needed to know every little detail regarding Nina's potential last moments out in public. "Was Miss Forester behaving differently? Was she…perhaps dressed differently or carrying anything?"

Again, Ms Oldbag paused for a moment of thought; clearly desperate to prove her worth to her long-time crush. "Well…yes, yes I do believe she was acting strangely. She was running for one thing even though I've only ever see that girl run for the department store sales or her morning cakes at the café. She was also carrying a large backpack, almost like she was planning to be gone for a while."

_So this disappearance was planned?_

"May I take another look around Miss Forester's apartment?" Miles needed to be sure that nothing was out of place, that Nina's mysterious vanishing wasn't permanent.

Oldbag nodded and handed over her chain of keys. "I hope such a handsome young thing like you doesn't get his hands dirty in that young lady's pigsty of a home."

Miles nodded gratefully and beckoned for Detective Gumshoe to join him in the once-over of Nina's apartment. On the stairs, they passed a hooded figure. "You know, if the rumours are true, I doubt Miss Forester's ever coming back."

The two men turned around, both puzzled and stunned by such words. "Why?" They asked in sync.

The figure removed their hood and smiled almost apologetically. "Kay?!" Again, Miles and Gumshoe matched each other's shock. "What on earth are you doing here?"

She smiled, "I hang around here a lot nowadays. There's a spare apartment that nobody's lived in for years; it's supposed to be haunted, I think someone died in there or something."

"It's good to see you again, Kay." Miles said with sincerity, desperate to jump straight to questioning his old assistant. "So, are you and Miss Forester are acquainted?"

"Yeah she's cool. She saw me leaving the old apartment one day and she invited me inside her home for lemonade and a chat." Kay paused, looking a little worried. "So Miss Forester's actually gone?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to answer that question." Miles was happy to see Kay again yet so stressed regarding the ex-officer's whereabouts.

"Why wouldn't she come back, pal?" Detective Gumshoe asked, his voice saddened and confused. "Nina loves her son Oliver, a-and she wouldn't just leave without a word."

The chief prosecutor couldn't help but watch the way the detective's face crumpled at the thought of never seeing his friend again; he could see the sadness and the worry and Miles knew that Gumshoe really did love his friend. He could tell how close the two really were. And he could only imagine how hard Nina's disappearance was on him.

"Apparently Miss Forester's in serious debt. I know for one thing that she's several months overdue on her rent and she's unemployed so I doubt her money problems were under control." Kay avoided Miles' eyes guiltily. "People have said that she lost the custody battle for her son because she was careless or something. She's said before that she hardly gets to see her kid and that her ex-husband is cruel. I wouldn't blame her for hitting the road."

Detective Gumshoe stayed quiet, clearly thinking hard about what Kay was saying. Miles listened carefully; they'd surely have to interview Chambers later.

"I want to help you find her. Whatever it takes, I'll help." Kay insisted, walking the two men to Nina's apartment. Miles nodded gratefully as he unlocked the door.

Nothing out of the ordinary: cd's were still scattered across the coffee table and dirty kitchenware still sat by the sink, waiting to be cleaned. They checked her bathroom; towels covered the floor and her hairdryer had been left plugged in but nothing too unusual. Finally, they scanned her bedroom. The bed seemed like it hadn't been made for days, for a start. Then they checked her drawers, closet – everywhere that a young woman may want to hide a secret. Nothing.

Gumshoe sighed and walked out of the room, leaving Miles and Kay to exchange glances. "He really misses her, doesn't he?" Kay looked just as glum as the detective. "We've got to make sure she's found safe." She clenched a fist to show Miles a sign of strength and determination. "I'll search the streets to see what I can find out." The Great Thief lifted Nina's bedroom window and carefully slipped out. Miles smirked, Kay never changed. She was still just as determined for the truth as ever.

Miles went back into the main room to see Gumshoe sat on the sofa, staring hard at a silver frame that held a photo. As he got closer, Miles saw that the photo was of Nina and the detective; the pair were dressed in their long trenchcoats and had their arm over each other's shoulder, smiling widely.

"That photo was taken the day Nina was officially made my subordinate." Gumshoe explained, smiling fondly at the memory. "Mr Edgeworth sir, she was happier then. Recently she's been so distant…b-but surely she said something to you."

He wanted to tell Gumshoe about how Nina had broken down in his car, how she'd cried and confessed to how miserable she'd been during recent weeks. But he couldn't break the hope his detective still held; knowing that the brunette was so depressed and hadn't told him would've surely hurt Gumshoe even more. Instead he just shook his head and insisted that the conversations shared between him and Nina had been simple discussions between two acquaintances.

"I know that Nina's only been missing for a day and a half but I can't stop thinking about her, sir. We always talk to each other every day. What if something's happened to her? What if she never comes back?" It was becoming increasingly evident that the kind-hearted detective really cared about Nina. They certainly shared a deep friendship and to see the two "partners-in-crime" apart was quite a sad sight indeed.

"She will, Detective. If she's as good a friend as you claim, Nina will come back." Miles knew he had to do the reassuring for the both of them. Although even he couldn't understand why the brunette would've left without a word. Moreover, to leave her son or a friend as close as Detective Gumshoe seemed so bizarre and out of character even for a woman that he hardly knew – even if he was in love with her.

The two men had nothing to go on so they had to keep some optimism. At least until they found a lead on Nina's whereabouts.

_24 Hours before…_

Nina awoke abruptly to a sharp pain in the back of her head. She moved a hand to touch the sore spot, feeling that it had scabbed over after a hard blow. Her other hand, however, was shackled to a grimy pipe that ran all along the wall. Then she realised where she was. And remembered what had happened prior to her blacking out.

"I know you're there, you son of a bitch." Nina groaned, biting her lip at the pain of sitting up, squinting into the shadowed part of the basement. A tall figure emerged; chuckling in the direction of the brunette handcuffed to the wall.

"Miss Murray, it's so good of you to stop by." He grinned as he walked into the lit part of the room, cane in hand and clothed as smart as ever. "I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet with Robert Murray's precious daughter."

"My name is Nina Forester." She spat back, the pain in her head growing worse; forcing herself to stare him dead in the eye. Standing her ground to prove that the man looming over her didn't intimidate her once bit. After all, Nina had spent so long researching him that she had desensitised herself to the cold-hearted convict and his crimes.

This was the first time that she'd seen him face to face, but the ex-officer instantly recognised the tall man before her.

Manfred von Karma.

Her father's murderer.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**Hey everyone, I've been rushing to get this rather long chapter finished as it's unlikely that I'll be very active from now till the start of December due to exams. I'll try and get a chapter up every week if I can but I'm not 100% that I'll have the time.**

**Anyway, this chapter shows some moments of Nina in her very dangerous situation and some scenes with Miles and his friends - along with the brief introduction of a new OC who may end up being quite important later on (I haven't decided yet haha)**

**I also found out how to do the line break between different parts of the fanfiction (even if it took me till chapter 12 to work it out XD )**

**Anyhoo hopefully this chapter is entertaining and all. If you like it or have any suggestions please review if you have the time! :)**

* * *

><p>"Your father spoke very highly of you, Miss Forester. Although I am curious as to why…to be honest, I just don't see it. After all, what kind of foolish girl runs away to track down a murderer?!" von Karma laughed, getting ever closer to the chained up brunette. Nina continued to glare hard at her father's killer – her hatred undeniable.<p>

"I hope you didn't come here to arrest me though. You're either very foolish or very misinformed if that was your intention." He laughed again and knelt down to Nina's level, his face inching closer to hers. "Or maybe you're here for much darker, more personal reasons?"

"Go to hell." Nina snarled, trying to keep her breathing under control. She couldn't afford to feel intimidated in her current situation. Even when the convict pulled out a gun.

"Such a pretty little thing you are. It really is a shame…" He reached out a hand but the brunette completely blanked this contact.

"If you're going to kill me…just do it." She spat back, feeling physically sick.

"Oh no dear, you've misunderstood me." Manfred put down the gun he was holding. "I intend to do far worse. Your sanity is already very fragile, your family torn apart. Who has actually realised that you've gone? Trust me, you'll be begging for death once I'm finished."

He picked up his gun and stood up, heading for the door with a cold smirk in place. "So make yourself comfortable, my dear. You're going to be here for a long time." And with that, von Karma headed up the basement stairs, chuckling to himself."von Karma!" She shouted after him, attempting to pull free from her shackles. "I swear I'll make you pay for this, you bastard!" Nina struggled and shouted for almost 20 minutes before she gave up and laid on the floor in defeat. It wasn't long before she drifted back off to sleep – it wasn't like she had anything else to do afterall.

* * *

><p>Even after two days of investigating, the LAPD had no leads regarding Nina's current whereabouts. Sure, they'd done their fair share of interviewing and examining every place she may have disappeared to – but so far, their efforts had proved futile.<p>

And as the hours passed by, Miles' hopes at seeing the woman he loved were slowly fading.

That was why he chose to step up the pace.

Chris Chambers being first on his hit-list.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" The detective smirked, taking a seat and removing his sunglasses.

"Yes, about Miss Forester." Miles replied, trying to maintain a calm demeanour around the egoistical blonde.

"Is Nina dead?" He asked with a snigger. "Because if she is, I'd like to take a look at her will. Although I'm not expecting her to have much money to leave Oliver."

The chief prosecutor knew he couldn't show Detective Chambers any sign of a reaction; Miles just needed to see if he knew anything about his ex-wife's disappearance. "When was the last time you spoke with Miss Forester?"

"Last week when she came to pick up Ollie for her monthly day out with him. Poor kid has no idea…he thinks his mom's an angel." He laughed, certainly not fazed by the fact that the mother of his son had been missing for several days. "Get this: she took him to Santa Monica beach. Like he hasn't been there loads of times before. Oh, and he got ice cream…as if he doesn't already eat it every day. Honestly I'm surprised she can even afford it."

Miles cleared his throat, clasping his hands together tightly whilst still feigning a polite manner towards the cruel detective. "So do you believe that there's a reason behind Miss Forester's disappearance?"

Chris simply shrugged, still smiling smugly.

"If you're withholding information…"

"I am not withholding anything. If you want to know a few secrets I suggest you find Nina." He snickered. "Such a shame that she's gone forever."

The detective was really testing Miles' patience now. And he knew it. "What makes you say that?"

"Didn't she tell you? Oh how odd…" The smug blonde pretended to be surprised then smirked. "Mark Baker for one seems to think that the two of you are close."

"…What has he said exactly?" Miles asked, now feeling both anxious and annoyed.

"That after Nina broke up with him she got into your car. You were hugging her and it was apparently really cosy." He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "You'll never guess what, Baker actually thinks Nina has a thing for you! It's enough to make anyone laugh…"

Miles, however, didn't laugh. He was thinking hard about what had just been said. Did Nina truly share his feelings? And if so, why hadn't she made them obvious to him – moreover, why hadn't she told him.

Well I suppose I never told her either.

"It must be true. After all, why else would Nina have ditched Baker after so little time? I know she was only using him but there must have been more to it."

"Wait…what do you mean by that?" He finally felt like the conversation was going somewhere.

"Didn't you know?" Chris grinned. "Nina was only dating Baker for information on that von Karma guy. Can't say I blame her really, Mark is pretty weedy and naïve – an easy target."

The realisation came crashing down on Miles. He may not have known where Nina was but he had a good idea as to who she was with. In fact, he couldn't speak; if she really was with Manfred von Karma, he may have already silenced her.

Even after several weeks of searching for the escaped convict, the LAPD had very few leads regarding where he could be hiding. Nina had clearly found out where and had gone to apprehend him single-handedly.

Miles stood up quickly; he had to find Detective Gumshoe and get the department looking again. If they found Manfred, they'd find Nina – and vice versa. But of course they'd require assistance in their search.

"Chambers, I want you to call Agent Lang at Interpol. If he has any available officers to aid our search we will need them." Miles said, throwing his jacket on.

Chris rolled his eyes, "all this fuss for Nina? You've got to be kidding me."

"We're also searching for Manfred von Karma now." Miles replied sternly. "Now make that phonecall Detective. That's an order." He had never once had to order a detective around like that but Chambers was way overdue for an arse-kicking. And what a sight it was when Chris actually picked up the phone and dialled for Agent Lang at Interpol!

Speaking of sights, Miles saw another one in the department's reception: Franziska von Karma storming her way through. As usual, she carried her trusty whip along with confident threats of violence via said trusty whip. And walking alongside her was Phoenix Wright. For once, he was pleased to see that infuriating man.

"Miles Edgeworth, why didn't you call me?!" Franziska exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "I'm insulted that you didn't even think to request my help. I had to hear all about this case from that Scruffy Detective."

Yes, some people never change…

"So, do you have any leads Edgeworth?" Phoenix asked, genuinely wanting to be helpful.

Well what could he have said to that? Chris Chambers of all people had just given them the first useful lead! But it involved Franziska's father.

"Not exactly, no." Miles replied quickly, not making eye contact with his 'sister'.

"Who is this woman anyway, Miles? That Scruffy Detective spoke very highly of her and you have practically sent out half of your officers looking for her – which has had no result by the way – so surely she must be a very significant person to receive all this attention."

The defence lawyer grinned as Miles began to blush. "Yeah Edgeworth, what is Nina like?"

"She's, ahem, highly intelligent, amusing, b-beautiful. She's…" Miles' words drifted away from him when he noticed the faces that Phoenix and Franziska were pulling. He turned around to see Detective Gumshoe stood beside a dark-haired man who didn't look pleased at all. In fact, he had a raised eyebrow on the chief prosecutor. "Good afternoon…how may I help you?"

"Sir, this is Nina's brother…" Detective Gumshoe said as Phoenix attempted to stifle a laugh.

The man reluctantly held out his hand to Miles. "Alex Murray." He remembered how Nina had introduced herself with a handshake too. Upon closer inspection, the resemblance between the two siblings more than apparent – they shared the same dark eyes and distinguishable English accent. However, Alex was quite tall and had allowed dark stubble to grow around his cheeks and slightly above his lip.

With a sweaty and shaky palm, Miles returned the introduction with an anxious smile: had Nina's brother heard everything he had just said?

"Nina has spoken very highly of you, Miles. Although I'd like to know if you actually have any leads regarding what happened to my sister. Moreover, have you actually been looking for her?" He certainly was the protective kind of brother.

"Of course, pal. Mr Edgeworth has had the LAPD running all over looking for Nina." Detective Gumshoe stepped in to defend his boss.

Alex turned back to the chief prosecutor. "But you don't have any leads? Surely you'd have found something by now."

Miles could feel his face flushing; he wanted to tell Alex what was going on and what he had just found out. But he equally didn't want to upset Franziska. Instead Miles shook his head, feeling guilty for lying to Nina's brother.

"So, let me get this straight, you've been searching for two days and you know nothing? You don't even know if she's alive…"

"No…but I certainly would appreciate it if you could aid our investigation, Mr Murray." Miles said, attempting to patch things up with the clearly concerned Englishman.

"Yeah, of course." Alex's expression was unreadable but Miles knew he had to work with this.

While Franziska helped to get the officers in order, Miles, Phoenix, Gumshoe and Alex headed back to Nina's apartment; knowing that if anyone could help find Nina that it would be her older brother.

They rifled through the same drawers, saw the same messy state that Nina's apartment had been in the day before when it had been searched. Miles knew it was fruitless but surely Alex knew something that could have helped them.

"I don't know why you've got me here, searching through my sister's old shirts and books. Shouldn't we be out there, actually looking for her?" Alex certainly seemed frustrated with the whole situation. Then Alex found a photo of him and Nina on her graduation day; he looked exactly the same, perhaps he currently had more of an unshaven face but the likeness was still uncanny, even after 9 or so years. Miles could sense the tension in the room, along with the obvious fact that Nina and Alex had drifted apart in recent years, after an upbringing of being close. After a moment or two of staring, the Englishman set down the album. "I can't just sit here knowing that my sister is out there; alone, scared. She might already be dead for crying out loud!"

"Mr Murray, you have to stay optimistic. We're doing all we can." Phoenix interjected, sensing that this situation was upsetting Miles.

"Forget it. I'm going to look for her myself." And Alex did exactly that – leaving the chief prosecutor alone with Phoenix and a sympathetic look.

"I know this is hard on him, but how are you doing?" Phoenix asked with complete sincerity. "Alex is Nina's brother so of course he'd be worried, but what about you?"

Miles thought for a moment: how was he doing? It was true that he hadn't slept or eaten properly since Nina was declared missing. He was worried and had been suffering from a constant migraine. And he now knew that he was in love with Nina – even though it may have been too late.

"I just want her to be found, Wright." Miles mumbled, staring out of the window. "In an ideal world, Nina would be here. She'd be her usual self and she'd be safe."

"…You really care about her, don't you." Phoenix said, feeling sorry for his childhood friend.

"You know I do, Wright. You've always known." Miles sighed, "…even when I didn't."

"Well…I'm sure that she's alright. Nina is a brave woman, you've said so yourself."

Now that Alex had gone, Miles knew that he was free to discuss Nina's probable captor. "Manfred von Karma has Nina. It's unlikely that she's alright, even if she is strong."

"What? Are you sure?"

Miles nodded, clearing his throat. "I think that she found out where von Karma's been hiding and went to confront him." He rubbed his temples, the thought very stressing indeed. How could she have been so stupid? In that moment, the men in the large poster above Nina's bed seemed to be staring at him and Miles couldn't help but stare back. He hated to admit it but he knew very little about Nina; he didn't even know the name of the band that hung above her bed.

And then a thought crossed his mind.

With shaking hands, Miles tore the poster off the wall and he almost felt the floor give way beneath his feet. There on Nina's wall hung a large wooden board full of newspaper clippings, accompanied by her own scribbled notes and a large map of the city that had been attacked by a red sharpie.

"Someone's been very busy," Phoenix said, watching as Miles carefully examined the board – particularly the map in the centre. Through all the red circles and crosses, one large indication was apparent: just on the outskirts, Nina had circled a large area of land. Clearly she knew this place more than the chief prosecutor. Even so, it was certain that this location was where Nina was – or at least, where she had driven to a few evenings ago.

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><p>Nina awoke suddenly to a sharp, continuous pain in her ribs that jolted her upright. She looked up weakly to find that von Karma was indeed kicking her awake, standing over her with a cruel grin. "What the hell do you want?" The brunette groaned with a glare, sitting up before the convict could kick her again.<p>

"I brought you some water." He threw a bottle at her. She didn't touch it. "Fine, be ungrateful. Your father was exactly the same." Manfred grinned, waiting for a reaction. "That's why I had to murder him."

Nina flinched, his words clearly striking a chord. "You didn't have to do anything."

"Why do you even care? It's not like your father was a good man. After what he did, he deserved everything that he got." He pressed his cane firmly into Nina's hip. "Wasn't it here that your precious father shot you?"

She winced at the pain but refused to give the fugitive the satisfaction of knowing that he was truly hurting her.

"And your poor mother. I'm certain that she didn't deserve to die for her lies."

"You know nothing about my family." Nina glared harder. "My dad loved that conniving cow. We were happy enough."

"If he was so happy then why kill his wife? Bitch or not, your father murdered your mother in cold blood. Right over—"

Nina threw her bottle of water at her captor; she felt physically sick and her chest ever tightening.

"If anyone murdered your father it was you." Von Karma insisted with a twisted smirk. "You and he were in cahoots. I only really killed him because of his betrayal."

She didn't answer.

"I'd have thought that you'd have at least been a little grateful that I led you here. It holds some significance doesn't it? Wasn't it over there by the stairs that—"

"Shut the hell up! I swear you'll be locked up and on death row by the end of the week; I'll make sure of it!" Nina shouted, still struggling free with clenched fists. In that moment, if looks could have killed, Manfred von Karma would've been an instant dead man.

Von Karma, on the other hand, grinned as cruelly as ever; more than satisfied with Nina's rage. "Alright, I'll leave you to sulk some more on your own."

"Don't you dare walk out that bloody door. I still want some answers from you, you bastard!" She swore, ignoring the sharp pain in her chest and the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. "We're not done here!"

Without warning, the convict pulled out a stun gun from his jacket pocket. "Oh, I think we are."

And before Nina could argue, she found herself having high voltage race through her body – knocking her unconscious.

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><p><strong>AN**

**I hope this didn't feel too rushed or that I'd put too many ideas into one fanfiction; I'm just eager to get onto the Miles x Nina stuff. I also hope that Nina's bad language doesn't bother anyone too much! ^^;**

**Anyway, have a lovely week everyone!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**Chapter 13...unlucky for some...**

**Hey there! I've finally managed to finish this chapter in between doing exams and hiking practise. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait, I've sort of had it planned for a while but I've just been finding it difficult to write at the moment. All the more reason why I hope my sweat and tears shed while writing this paid off haha! And if you like this chapter (and the fanfiction) or if you have any suggestions regarding how I can improve, please feel free to drop me a comment if you have the time. Thanks!**

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><p>It was almost 24 hours before Nina saw her kidnapper-of-sorts again. Moreover, it was the morning of her fourth day of being chained to a pipe. She watched with a blank expression as von Karma walked over to her, holding a newspaper. He knelt down to her level and showed her the front page, reading: "local officer still missing."<p>

"It appears that the Chief Prosecutor has requested that Interpol assist with the investigation. He's certainly concerned for your wellbeing…"

"Wow, I made the front page." Nina said sarcastically, glancing over the article. And she actually realised how much she missed the chief prosecutor. How much she missed everyone. She should've been nicer to her friends, she should've told them what was going on – about her research. Heck, Nina even felt guilty for using Detective Baker in the way that she did. But all hope hadn't left her just yet. If what Ema and Gumshoe and the rest of the department had said about Miles was true, she was going to be found before any serious harm could come to her. "They'll find us, you know. And when they do, you'll be going back to your cosy little prison cell." She insisted with a smug smile, no longer feeling weak or afraid – even though she hardly did to begin with.

But von Karma just laughed, "When the Chief Prosecutor turns up with his silly department, they'll regret having ever known you. You'll be Edgeworth's downfall."

"I won't let that happen." Nina muttered, clenching her fists.

Somehow Manfred knew that she wasn't just saying things in the heat of the moment. He knew that Nina was indeed serious.

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><p>Upon discovering Nina's secret research, Miles and Detective Gumshoe spent the remainder of the evening looking into the highlighted area whilst Phoenix (accompanied by Athena) set out to look for Alex in order to tell him the good-ish news regarding Nina's probable location. So far, the dark-haired Englishman was nowhere to be found so they were forced to conduct their in-depth study without him.<p>

Surely the location had to be secluded otherwise Manfred wouldn't have chosen it, nor would he have escaped police re-arrest for so long unless his chosen hideout was in a completely isolated area. Hours passed and still no luck came their way. They tried online searches of the surrounding areas; almost desperate for any hint.

It was a long shot but Miles decided to search Nina's family. Not just online – on the police database.

Robert Murray's case of 2018 appeared on the computer screen; along with an in-depth account of the crime he had committed. While Miles knew the basic gist of the case; Robert Murray had murdered his wife Vanessa in a violent rage in the basement of their home and had claimed that two men who had broken into their family home had committed the crime, Miles didn't know that Nina had also been on the scene. And that her father had also attempted to murder her. He read the article again, puzzled as to why the man that Nina always spoke so highly of had tried to kill her. Gumshoe peered over his boss' shoulder, sensing the confusion.

"He didn't do it." The detective casually insisted – clearly he knew about this. "Nina says that two men broke into their home. She witnessed the whole thing from behind the bookcase."

"It says that Murray shot his daughter. Is this true?"

Gumshoe looked hesitant, avoiding the chief prosecutor's gaze. "Nina doesn't like to talk about it. I don't know, sir."

Miles frowned and turned back to the computer, almost falling from his chair when he found an address. Nina's old family home was within the region she'd circled on the map. Just on the outskirts of town. This was where Manfred had to be keeping her.

Therefore, it was where they'd have to go next.

"Detective, I want you to contact the department. Give them this address and tell them to set off as soon as they can." Miles instructed, throwing his jacket on and grabbing his car keys.

"But, Mr Edgeworth sir…you can't go alone." Gumshoe insisted with a worried tone to his voice.

"I'll be fine, Gumshoe." He insisted, heading for the door.

"If you'd just wait for Interpol..."

"I can't do that. Nina could be in danger and I'll never forgive myself if something has happened to her." Miles slipped a gun into his pocket; although he knew that the chances of him using it were slim to none. It was more to ensure the concerned detective that he'd be alright.

As soon as Miles had left, Gumshoe grabbed for the telephone and called everyone he could think of; the LAPD, Interpol, Phoenix, Franziska…everyone needed to know about the breakthrough in the investigation; moreover, the fact that Miles was being so foolish as to venture out alone.

The journey to the cottage felt like the longest drive Miles had ever been on. It seemed never-ending, despite the fact that he'd been just grazing over the speed limit the whole time. Awful thoughts plagued his mind constantly – was Nina even alive now? He remembered the last time he'd seen her; the memory still vivid in his mind. They'd left things on good terms, maybe a friendship had even blossomed between them. She'd smiled at him as he left, insisted that he call her by her first name. Surely that had to have meant something. Nina had shared some personal secrets with the chief prosecutor, after all. Then there was the matter of what Chris had told him; did Nina share Miles' feelings?

It won't matter if von Karma has murdered her.

The potential truth still lingered in the back of his mind. It was true, even if it was terrible to think it.

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><p>When he arrived at the old cottage, Miles decided to pull up his car further down the road so Manfred wasn't made aware that his location had been uncovered. Carefully, the chief prosecutor entered the abandoned house; warily dodging creaky floorboards and cobwebs. It was more than apparent that nobody had lived in the house since the dreadful incident. Miles searched the rooms for any sign of Nina – an eerie silence swept through the house – almost as if Nina's mother's presence still lingered there. Entering what used to have been the front room, Miles noticed something glittering in the ash-filled fireplace. Picking up what turned out to be a golden photo frame, he dusted it down; revealing an old photo of a family inside the frame. Squinting at the worn photograph he made out the familiar face of Robert Murray, who smiled just like he was the innocent man that Nina had claimed him to be. Nina herself was also present in the photo, alongside her brother Alex – the two siblings were smiling too – their faces almost identical, as well as recognisable. Nina's genuine smile just as warm as it was in the present day. Besides Robert stood a middle-aged woman whose hair had been pinned up into a neat bun, her clothes creaseless much like her smile. Miles assumed that this woman was Nina's late-mother, Vanessa.<p>

He set the photograph down, feeling a deep sadness for the tragic fate that had befallen the Murray family. Clearly it had taken a huge toll on Nina for her to change her surname; she'd wanted to escape her past. Moreover, if what the article had claimed in regards to Nina being shot by her father was true, how on earth had the brunette been feeling over the years?

Wandering into a door on the right, Miles noticed an overturned rug; revealing a small door on the floor. His hopes rising, the chief prosecutor pulled open the door to reveal a small staircase and wasted no time in following it down to the basement of the cottage. As he'd hoped, Nina was there.

She was chained to the wall like an animal; her hair beyond messy and her body weak and tired. Upon hearing the fait footsteps, she'd opened her eyes, squinting into the darkness in the room. "If you're going to kill me, just do it." Her voice was also cracking from an apparent lack of nutrition. Nina had been down there for, what, five days?

Quickly, Miles flicked on a light switch, allowing a dim light to fill the grimy room. Nina's eyes widened when she realised who was stood by the stairwell.

"Mr Chief Prosecutor…" She smiled weakly, the newfound light filling her dusty face. Miles noted how she'd gained a black eye and that her face and arms were full of cuts and scratches from her lack of obedience. Miles couldn't speak; he didn't know what to say. Seeing the battered state of his love interest was too much for him to bear. "Say something. I-I'm not sure if you're really here or if I'm just hallucinating." Nina laughed a little, causing her to cough. It wasn't surprising, the room was cold and damp – even a few hours down there would've given anyone some sort of flu.

"No…I'm here." Miles breathed, walking over to her. "I'm just unsure of what to say."

"I don't care what you say. I'm just really happy to see you."

Miles' heart lit up. She's happy to see me? However, he must've been smiling for longer than he should have.

Nina glanced at her handcuffed wrist, raising an eyebrow. "I hate to point out the obvious but I'm still cuffed to a pipe. If you could help me out, I'd appreciate it."

Despite his blush, Miles nodded and knelt down to take a closer look at Nina's shackles. And to their dismay, a key was required in order to undo the handcuff. "Well now what?"

"The department will be here soon, Nina. I'm certain they'll be able to help." Miles reassured her, trying his best to force a calm smile.

However, this smile soon faltered when the worst possible sound could be heard – the front door slamming upstairs. Manfred von Karma had entered the cottage.

Nina pointed over to a bookcase against the wall, indicating for Miles to hide behind it just as the convict was making his way down the stairs at an agonisingly slow pace. The brunette could feel her heart thudding loudly in her chest but she managed to steady her breathing; although her hands were shaking. Miles was in a similar position. Behind the bookcase made him feel nervous and claustrophobic, his own heart pounding in his chest as he peeked out from behind his hiding place.

"Miss Forester, what have you been up to today?" Manfred asked with a blank expression.

Nina held up her shackled wrist, "obviously not a lot. My leg really itched at one point and I really need a wee but other than that, nothing much happened."

"See, I find that very difficult to believe. Especially since I saw several police cars headed this way." He grabbed Nina's free arm tightly. "Did you make a phonecall while I was gone?!"

Nina knew she couldn't drop Miles in danger too, so she simply stared von Karma in the eye, challenging him. Her silence was enough to get the man's blood boiling. "The jig is up. You'll get a longer sentence for this, you know. Maybe you'll go on death row if you murder me." She said, struggling as Manfred freed her from her handcuff and pulled her to her feet.

"They aren't coming for me, do you understand?" His voice was becoming louder, angrier – he was clearly becoming agitated – and his cane came into contact with Nina's face in one clean swing.

"No, they are." Nina grinned even though blood was trickling down her nose after coming into contact with the convict's cane. The faint sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance. "It's over von Karma."

"Believe me, I won't go down without a fight." von Karma's grip on Nina's arm tightened and Miles saw the convict reach into his jacket pocket, pulling out something sharp. But before the chief prosecutor had a chance to react, it was too late. Manfred had plunged a knife straight into Nina's stomach. She fell to the floor, clutching the wound tightly as the blood spilled onto her hand.

Without even thinking, Miles emerged from behind the bookcase, pointing his pistol at Manfred. "Let her go…" He said firmly, his grip on the gun tightening. The convict looked amused; in fact, almost pleased to see his old student. "You have to let her go now!"

"Miles Edgeworth, what a pleasant surprise." He grinned from the chief prosecutor to the brunette that sat slumped on the floor, still bleeding heavily. "I assume you've come here to rescue Little Miss Forester. It's a shame, you're a few seconds too late."

"M-Miles…go…" Nina whispered in between gasps, glancing up at him through pained brown eyes.

Miles shook his head, "von Karma, you have to let her leave. She needs medical attention!" He just couldn't help pointing out the obvious; he was desperate at this point. Manfred blocked his way, preventing his ex-protégé from getting to Nina, whose breathing was speeding up by the minute.

"Fine. How about we do a trade, Miles Edgeworth?" The fugitive pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Miles. "Your life for hers. It's simple really."

Nina shook her head desperately, "No…no, Miles…d-don't listen to him…"

However, despite her pleas, the chief prosecutor stepped forward, nodding; knowing what he had to do. It was the only way Nina could be saved.

Despite himself, Miles set his gun down on the floor and slid it into the corner of the room; his hands shaking.

"He's lying, Miles...! H-He's going to…to kill b-both of us..!" She attempted to kick von Karma as he knelt down to unlock her handcuffs. "He…wants us both d-dead..!"

Manfred chuckled and ignored Nina's futile attempt to talk Miles out of doing the unthinkable. But his mind was already made up - he knew that he'd have done anything for Nina. And von Karma also seemed to know this fact.

That's why it was the perfect opportunity to destroy the Edgeworth family once and for all.

"I-I won't let you…you c-can't do this..! Nina cried, still holding her stomach.

"…I'm sorry but I have to." Miles insisted, pushing his way past Manfred to kneel beside Nina. "I care far too much about you to let you die."

Nina grabbed his arm with her newly freed hand. "T-Then walk away."

"I can't." He shook his head sadly.

"No…you can. Y-You have the choice t-to walk away." Nina was almost begging – something which was a rare occurrence.

Then Miles turned to von Karma, trying his hardest to ignore Nina's sobbing pleas. "You have to let her go. You have to make sure that she lives."

Von Karma chuckled and shrugged; clearly the only thing on his mind was finally murdering the chief prosecutor. Then, with his back to Nina, Manfred pointed his pistol squarely at Miles' head.

Nina just couldn't sit there and watch Miles give up his life for her. She desperately glanced around the room, trying to force herself to her feet – but it was no use. However, she then noticed Miles' gun lying on the floor in the corner of the room.

"You'll finally be reunited with your father." The gun-wielding fugitive sneered, deciding to taunt Miles some more before pulling the trigger. "All this trouble for a sad, lonely little girl." Manfred laughed and raised the gun to Miles' head. The chief prosecutor stood silent; collecting his thoughts before his mind stopped altogether. He loved Nina and that was enough to justify all the things that he was willing to give up for her. Everything. "Goodbye Miles."

Miles closed his eyes, preparing for the blow. Ready to be taken over by eternal darkness. His hands were shaking and his heart pounding in his chest. He thought of Nina; how he'd never gotten the chance to tell her how he felt about her. How much he loved her.

But before he could take in one last breath, he heard the gunshot; it echoed through the empty basement and left his ears ringing. Although he then felt nothing.

Opening his eyes warily, Miles realised that he was indeed alive. However, he then realised why. Manfred von Karma lie by his feet, still and silent. And Nina was now sat by the far wall; his own freshly-fired pistol beside her. It didn't take much time before Miles put two and two together: Nina had shot von Karma. Moreover, she'd murdered him.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

**This is a few days later than I'd planned but I had a last minute party to go to the other night so I had to postpone uploading this chapter so my apologies guys!**

**The aftermath of von Karma's death. I could've written so much more but I've split this chapter up since I know that I'd probably get a little bored reading a really long fanfic chapter so I'm saving the rest for chapter 15.**

**But cutesy stuff is set to happen soon I promise! **

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><p>Throughout the night Miles had stayed in the hospital corridor, pacing its long hallway into the early hours of the morning. He'd been doing this for the last 3 hours or so; not sleeping at all throughout the night and, as early morning began to approach, the chief prosecutor began to feel even more on edge. But after what had occurred, who could have blamed him? Manfred von Karma had been murdered right in front of him – by the woman he loved nonetheless. And even though Miles knew that what Nina had done was justifiable, he just couldn't come to terms with it. Murder was still a crime even if the authorities would regard the ex-officer's actions as self-defence. It wasn't the law that was playing on Miles' mind – it was his own morals.<p>

Detective Gumshoe had arrived at 2am with some clothes and other items for Nina when she came to. If she came to. The detective was obviously certain that his friend would pull through – and he made sure that Miles knew it too – even if he didn't believe it for himself. "If she doesn't pull through this I'll never forgive myself." Miles said quietly, his hands clasped tightly together. He hadn't slept or eaten since the incident even though he was clearly tired and drained from the earlier run-in with the now-late Manfred von Karma.

While the hospital staff and Detective Gumshoe had continued to hold a positive outlook, Miles just couldn't stop thinking over the negatives. He couldn't stop his mind going back to the moment when he opened his eyes to see Manfred von Karma dead with a bullet in his head. Despite himself, his mind kept replaying the moment when his shocked eyes met Nina's; her eyelids drooping as she drifted out of consciousness. She seemed numb and not completely aware of what she had done. Miles vividly remembered standing in shock for a minute or two before he ran over to Nina and carried her outside. Those seconds that he wasted could've been crucial. As soon as he reached the front door, police cars were pulling up outside the old Murray cottage; the unforgettable sound of a dozen sirens was all that Miles could hear as he looked around him and tried to take in both the scene and the situation: his father's murderer was dead. But his mentor was dead also. It certainly was a strange situation for the chief prosecutor to get his head around.

As a result, Gumshoe and Miles had sat in silence for over an hour until a nurse emerged to inform them that Nina's operation had been successful, and that she'd be allowed visitors soon. They were relieved to say the least. "I told you Nina would pull through, Mr Edgeworth sir." The detective grinned. "That reminds me, on my way here I bought these for Nina…" He pulled out a box of chocolates and handed them to Miles. "You should give them to her when you see her."

Miles took them gratefully, although puzzled by Gumshoe's actions. "Why are you smiling?"

The detective rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "you know, sir…just looking out for you and Nina. The two of you mean a lot to me, pal."

His words caused the chief prosecutor to smile too; Nina had been right when they first met – he really did take Detective Gumshoe's kindness and loyalty for granted at times. And on top of this, Miles realised that the detective knew about his fondness for his best friend, and that he supported these feelings.

"Sir, you really should hurry in to see her."

"Don't you want to go first, Detective?" Miles asked, being taken aback further by Gumshoe's thoughtfulness.

He shook his head with a half-smile. "I'm going to stay out here and wait for the other visitors. I'll see Nina later, Mr Edgeworth sir, I'm sure she'll want to see your face first."

"Thank you, Detective. I really appreciate it." The chief prosecutor nodded politely before making his way to Nina's hospital room.

With an anxious sigh, Miles headed into Nina's room; his heart lighting up when he saw her lying there, alive with a weak smile on her face. Alive being the key word.

"Hey Mr Chief Prosecutor."

Forcing a smile of his own, Miles approached the bed and took a seat beside her, noticing how pale Nina was; all colour had vanished from her face apart from the purple blotches and red scabs that were now present from her struggles with the late von Karma.

Nina recognised the concerned look that the chief prosecutor threw her way. "I don't look that bad, do I?" She laughed as best she could even though her muscles were aching. Miles didn't say anything, nor did he make eye contact with the brunette. Instead he simply set the box of chocolates down on the bedside table, still speechless. "Well cheers for the comforting words. You don't look too handsome yourself." She gave him a concerned look, noticing that Miles hadn't understood that she was joking. "You've slept recently, right?"

"No, of course I haven't." Miles replied glumly, still not making eye contact. "How could I even begin to try?"

"You need to keep your strength up. Who else has the capability to take over your job when you collapse from exhaustion?"

"I've got a lot on my mind." He insisted quietly; eyes still focused on the hospital floor and hands clasped tightly together.

"You mean von Karma? And what I did…" Miles felt Nina's eyes burn into him. "Don't tell me you're grieving..."

Her lack of guilt shocked Miles - that much was certain. He couldn't believe that she could've taken a life without feeling an ounce of remorse. "As bad as he was, von Karma raised me into who I am today. I owe a lot to that man, murderer or not. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel saddened at all by his death."

Nina's face dropped; it was as if Miles had just slapped her across the face. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That man had me chained up like an animal for days. Look at my face; these bruises aren't just face paint. Not to mention the fact that he stabbed me..!" Nina took a deep breath, "and he almost killed you."

"You should have let him."

"No. No, don't you ever say that." Nina frowned, her eyes glaring holes into the chief prosecutor; his words shocking her by the minute. "Do you think that I'd have been able to live with myself if you'd have died because of me? How would I have been able to explain to everyone that you gave up your life for mine? That would've killed me, Miles. And you're so bloody blind to it all."

"I just wish that I could help you to understand the situation…"

"And I wish that you could realise that von Karma was a twisted son of a bitch who killed so many innocent people. He deserved to die, Miles." The chief prosecutor knew that the brunette was serious in what she was saying; her ideas of justice very different to those belonging to him.

"We don't get to make that call, Nina. Those decisions—"

"Often have to be made in order to protect those you care about." Nina stated bluntly, staring straight into Miles' grey eyes. The room fell silent for a few minutes; neither of them knew what to say to make this right. She sighed, knowing it was up to her to address the tension. And she certainly did. "…Why didn't you tell me about DL-6?" Nina asked suddenly, her voice strained. Miles blinked at her in shock, his head snapping up upon hearing the all-too familiar case name. "You knew exactly what I was going through when my dad was murdered. You'd have been the best person to comfort me, but you didn't tell me. It seems like everyone knew but me." Miles felt a blush prick his cheeks; he felt anxious and embarrassed – and guilty. And now that Nina knew, what did she think of the chief prosecutor. "I know that it's difficult for you to open up to people but you had the perfect opportunity to share that chapter of your life with me and you didn't. I've realised that I hardly know anything about you."

Miles couldn't speak; what Nina was saying was indeed true. If he loved her as much as his mind claimed, he would've opened up. However, he had a burning desire to tell Nina everything about him – anything she wanted to know, he wanted to tell. Being held under the brunette's gaze like that was especially intimidating.

"But that's what intrigues me, Mr Chief Prosecutor. I want to know your story…if you'll let me…" Nina feigned a small smirk and tilted her head to one side; leaving the prosecutor with a strange sense of deja-vu. Except this time, his head was inches from hers.

Their closeness however, was broken by the door swinging open to reveal Nina's brother Alex; back from several days of being awol. He immediately raced over to his sister and threw his muscular arms around her; Nina winced at the contact but ignored the pain in order to stay in her older brother's protective arms for a few moments more.

"You had me going out of my mind with worry…" Alex whispered, not letting his sister go. "I drove over here as soon as I heard that you were missing."

"You didn't have to do that. It's a stupidly long drive over here and I was clearly going to be found eventually…" She looked over to Miles with a slight smile. Alex followed her gaze and nodded at Miles politely; perhaps Nina's brother and the chief prosecutor were finally on the grounds of an acquaintanceship.

"Mr…Edgeworth wasn't it?" Alex asked, reluctantly moving away from his younger sister.

"That's right, yes…" Miles replied quickly, desperate to clear the air with the Englishman.

"Cheers, you know, for what you've done for my sister. I don't think I could ever make it up to you but I'll owe you a favour, when you need it." The two men exchanged a polite smile and nod – they were officially acquaintances now and that certainly pleased Miles to say the least. "I hate to ask but can you give us five minutes alone, mate?" The chief prosecutor looked over to Nina quickly to approve this request – she smiled and nodded, so Miles got up and left.

As soon as he'd left the room, Alex wasted no time in interrogating his sister. "You killed a guy."

"Jeez Alex, give me a minute. This isn't much of a family reunion, is it?" Nina groaned tiredly, propping herself up against the pillows on her bed, clearly uncomfortable and annoyed with her lack of mobility. "Yeah, I did. What do you want me to do, apologise to his corpse?"

"The guy that held you captive…he's the guy that killed dad right?" Alex asked, fiddling with the silver ring on his pointer finger. "And you shot him dead…I can't help but feel like there's a connection here, Nina."

"Yeah, he was going to shoot Miles so I stopped him." Nina answered ever-so-casually, staring her brother dead in the eye. "Oh don't give me that look! He deserved to die, Alex. He murdered our father and so many others; a life – lives – for his life and all that."

"And what if you go to jail for this Nina? Prison isn't the best place for you, is it?"

"Do you not think so? Personally, I think I'd fit in great with the prison gals. I've already got a tattoo and I can tell a good joke or too – I'm a real card, I'd be the life of the prison." She laughed a little until her brother threw her an annoyed glare; clearly he didn't appreciate his sister's humour either. "I won't get sent down anyway because it was self-defence, you idiot. I'm not just some trigger-happy nut, am I?"

"I don't know, Nina. You seem prepared to do anything to defend dad's honour." Alex stated with folded arms and a furrowed brow.

"Wow, you must really hate dad." Nina practically jumped out of her bed, feeling frustrated with her brother's attitude – in fact, he genuinely thought she was going to take a swing at him. "You were never on his side from the start. I mean, after all the bloody football practises he took you to, after he got you your first job and taught you how to drive and put up with all your shit you still couldn't get your sorry ass over here for his fucking funeral that I had to sort out single-handedly!"

"Here we go, blaming this all on me. Nina, our father was a murderer; he killed mum and tried to shut you up for being a witness. He shot you Nina. I just wish you could remember that night." Alex was dead set on the facts; hoping to finally deter his sister from pursuing what she believed to be the unknown truth – but of course it'd never work.

"When I get out of here I'm going to find out what really happened. Whether I'm back on the force or not, I'll prove that dad didn't kill your precious mother." She smirked smugly at her older brother who just rolled his eyes; he'd heard this determined speech before – proving Robert Murray's innocence had been Nina's sole goal for the last ten years.

From outside the room, Miles and Gumshoe could clearly see that tensions were high between the two siblings. Although the glass gave nothing away in terms of what was being said, the pair could take a good guess and say that the subject of their argument was Nina's actions as well as her father's supposed crime.

"Have you told Nina you love her yet, sir?" Detective Gumshoe asked suddenly, out of the blue; startling Miles, who almost jumped – shocked with both Gumshoe's boldness and the fact that he'd practically snuck up on him to ask the all-important question.

Miles hated the current situation. After what had happened, he was finding it so difficult to look Nina in the eye; despite the fact that he knew she'd murdered the convict to save his own skin. But why did it still feel like she'd done the wrong thing? Although what Miles couldn't get over was the fact that, after taking Manfred von Karma's life, she hadn't displayed any signs of shock or remorse. Moreover, Nina saw her actions as easily justifiable. And Miles knew that the LAPD would've agreed with her actions. Hence why he was the one left feeling the burden of her guilt.

However Miles also knew that, whatever Nina did, he'd still love her just the same.

The only real issue was finding the courage to tell Nina this.

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><p><strong>AN**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**As I said in my notes at the start of this chapter, the good stuff is coming soon because I'm so eager to start writing about the blossoming of Niles or Mina? Haha I want a power couple name for the two of them.**

**The next instalment may not be up for at least a week though since I've got hiking this weekend and a French exam in the week but I'll see if I can squeeze some time in as soon as it's all done with. **

**Thank you for sticking around! Have a lovely day!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

**Hi everyone, hope you've all had a great week so far. My exams are finally over until after Christmas so I'll finally have the time to focus on weekly(ish) updates again.**

**This is kind of Chapter 14.5, just wrapping up Nina's stay in the hospital - next chapter will start with a time shift to Nina's discharge so we'll finally see her up and about again. I know I say this every chapter but I'm doing my best to push Miles and Nina close at a good pace due to complications within both of their personalities; what with Miles being shy and Nina being too stubborn. Also, on a side note, I realised that Nina briefly mentioned her tattoo in the last chapter but I completely forgot to develop this in my author's notes at the end of the chapter. Basically it's a dandelion on her right shoulder area, with the fluff blowing off and a few birds within the feathers too (if you want to see a similar one, just Google dandelion shoulder tattoo, you can't go wrong they're all pretty similar. I think it's pretty, I so hope you guys agree!)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please feel free to review or drop me a DM if you have any suggestions or feedback in general for the whole fanfiction so far! :)**

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><p>Over the days that followed, Detective Gumshoe hardly left Nina's side; waiting on her every request – especially when Miles was summoned to work. The two friends would spend the afternoons eating chocolates and laughing at the articles in the women's gossip magazines that Ema had brought over for a joke. Then as soon as he'd finished at work, Miles would drive down to the hospital to take over for Gumshoe, if only for a couple of hours. Still trying to push his real feelings for Nina out of mind.<p>

The ex-officer had received another few small visits from Alex, although he never tended to stay long due to the clear friction that was still present between the two siblings, as well as a few officers who came to interview Nina regarding her account of the past week's occurrences – later leading to the conclusion that she was indeed guilty of nothing. Manfred von Karma had been murdered in self-defence, and the authorities insisted that it be the last anyone spoke of the case.

When Miles got to the hospital on Friday evening, he found that Nina was already in the middle of having visitors. Detective Gumshoe was sat outside in the corridor, alongside a young woman with bleach blonde hair who was dressed in a peach dress that barely covered her thighs. The chief prosecutor noted how neither Gumshoe nor the blonde exchanged a word; as well as the relieved look that flashed on the detective's face upon Miles' arrival. "How's Nina?" He asked, taking a seat besides Gumshoe.

"She's doing well, sir. Really well." He replied quickly, his eyes fixed on the door. Miles could certainly say that he'd never the detective look so distracted – and that really was saying something!

"Miles Edgeworth, is it?" The woman on the right said quickly, glancing at the two men out of the corner of her eye.

"That's right yes. And you are..?"

"Kelly Chambers…well, soon to be." She laughed and held out her right hand, grinning when the jewel on her ring caught the light – clearly eager to show off her status. Miles immediately put two and two together and realised that this young woman was Chris Chambers' fiancée; moreover, that Chris was in the room with Nina. "Can you believe it? I suggest coming down here but I get banned from going into the room." She frowned slightly at Gumshoe; it became apparent that the detective had stood his ground in order to prevent Nina from undergoing further upset. Miles was pleased with his loyalty towards Nina indeed. Although Chris' presence concerned him.

Inside Nina's room, Chris sat quietly for once while Nina sat cross-legged on her bed, their son Oliver sat on her legs, reading aloud to his mother. "'And then the ugly duckeling knowed he was not alone be…cause he had a mommy and brothers and sisters who loved him a lot.'" He turned to Nina curiously, "you love me right?"

"Of course I do. I'm your mummy and you're my cheeky little…monkey…!" She smiled and ticked the small boy, earning giggles and squrims from him until she stopped and moved her arms to hug the child again.

"Mummy, why don't I see you a lot?" Oliver asked, snuggling into his mother's ams.

"…I don't know, Ollie." She sighed and turned to Chris with a scowl. "It's just the way things are."

"Why? I want you to come home and marry daddy again and then I can have a baby sister." Oliver's outlook on life seemed so carefree; he was oblivious to all the material issues his parents had suffered but neither of them had the cruel heart to tell him the truth – well, when it came to his son, Chambers was unusually kind.

"It's not going to happen, sweetheart." Nina smiled sadly and hugged the small boy tighter. "But I am very happy that you came to see me today. I hope you can come visit me again…" Her eyes quickly darted over to a bored-looking Chris, clearly hinting for more visits with their son.

"Can we daddy? Please? Please?" Oliver jumped up from the bed, tugging at his father's arm. "We can bring mommy some flowers."

"We'll see..." He gave Nina a frustrated look; apparently she was pushing her luck. "Hey Ollie, can you go outside and tell Kelly that we're going soon."

"But I wanna stay with mommy…!" The boy whined, clinging to Nina's arm; she kissed his forehead with a sad smile.

"Do as your dad says, sweetheart. I'm sure I'll see you soon, yeah?"

Reluctantly, Oliver released Nina's arm before leaving the room. "Love you mommy," he called behind him.

The brunette's smile however faltered when Chris stood up. "You've got to stop this Nina."

"Stop what?"

"Filling our son's head with these crazy fantasies. You can't get more than one visit a month and there's no chance that you and I will be getting back together."

Nina smirked, amused by what her ex-husband was saying. "Don't flatter yourself Chris. I'd rather drink bleach than get back with you."

"Well, at least bleach will do the job. It'll do what booze never could. Or Manfred von Karma for that matter…" Again the blonde sniggered, leaning over Nina's bed.

"You really hate me don't you? I bet reading that newspaper and seeing that I was alive was such a disappointment. You and Kelly were probably picking out black clothes and practising mournful looks during my disappearance." Nina spat back, glaring hard at the cruel detective, who continued to grin at her.

"You're as psychotic as ever, Ni. It's no wonder that I won the custody battle."

Nina frowned, staring hard at a spot on the wall where the white paint was chipping away. She couldn't let her ex-husband get the better of her, nor could she give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was getting under her skin. Oh how she despised that arrogant man.

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><p>Kelly stood up quickly when she saw Oliver leave the room glumly, a forced smile appearing on her face. "Ollie, where's your dad?"<p>

"Talking to mommy." He frowned at the blonde. "It's all your fault! I hate you..!" And before she could react to the verbal abuse from a five year old, Oliver had ran down the corridor, his lip trembling.

Kelly sighed and sat back down in her chair, seemingly unfazed by the fact that her soon-to-be stepson had ran off somewhere on his own. Miles and Gumshoe both looked stunned at her. "Don't just stand there, go find him." The nerve of her! However, Miles knew there was no time for an argument and insisted that he and Gumshoe hurry to find the child – splitting up to increase the speed of his finding.

Thankfully, Oliver wasn't too difficult to find; he'd ventured to the bottom of the long corridor and had tucked himself up beside the candy bar machine, knees to his chest in a sad sulk. He looked up miserably when Miles found him, shying away since he was indeed a stranger to the young boy. In a way, the chief prosecutor wished that Gumshoe had been the one to locate Nina's son – Miles had no idea how to talk to him after all.

"Hello, Oliver…" He greeted, kneeling in front of the small boy. However, after this, Miles' mind went blank and he had no idea what else to say. Oliver didn't reply. Instead he continued to stare at the hospital floor. The chief prosecutor's eyes also wandered to the floor, desperately trying to think of a topic he could discuss with the five year old. He noticed the candy machine and took out his wallet. "Would you like a chocolate bar, Oliver?" He asked, offering him a few dollars.

Oliver looked up shyly, "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

"Well…I'm not exactly a stranger. I'm friends with your mother, my name is Miles Edgeworth." Miles blurted out in his desperate attempt to befriend the child and take him back to his parents (although preferably Nina.)

Nina's son gave Miles a puzzled look and then pointed at his cravat. "What's that?"

Miles was taken aback but followed the boy's gaze to his neck - realising that his cravat had caught Oliver's attention. "It's called a cravat."

"Is it like a tissue?" He giggled a little and stood up so that he was just about level with Miles, who continued to kneel down beside him.

"No, it's a formal piece of clothing." Miles replied, amused by the child's innocence. Upon closer inspection, Oliver really did look like Nina; they shared the same dark eyes, hair and above all, the same genuine smile.

"I want some chocolate please, mister Miles." Oliver smiled, changing the topic and walking to the machine where he pointed to a picture of a chocolate bar. The chief prosecutor then realised that Nina's son was unable to reach the buttons or the money slot so he stood up and did this for him instead. As soon as the bar of chocolate was in Oliver's hand, his face lit up and he thanked Miles.

"Why don't I take you back to your father now, I'm sure he's wondering where you are." Never in a million years would Miles have thought that he'd be persuading a small child to return to his family; especially not Nina and Chris' son.

In fact, Oliver had the upper hand in the situation. And he knew it. Smiling cheekily he shook his head. "Nope. I want to live with mommy."

"Oliver, I'm afraid that's up to your parents…"

"But you said you're mommy's friend. You can make her." It all seemed so simple in Oliver's mind; yet Miles wasn't even aware of the custodial situation between Chris and Nina. "I do not like Kelly. And daddy loves her more than me. Mommy is lonely and sad so I can live with her instead and make her happy again."

Before Miles could answer, Chris and Kelly came storming up the corridor; the former scowled when he saw his son with the chief prosecutor. "Oliver what have I told you about talking to strangers?"

"But he's not a stranger. Miles is mommy's friend and he's going to make me and mommy live together." The small boy chirped with a smile, not leaving Miles' side.

"Kelly take Oliver to the car. I'll be down in a minute." Chris said, prising his son away from his boss and sending the two on their way.

Of course Oliver protested, struggling against Kelly's manicured hand in his. "I want to stay with Miles!" He protested as his stepmother attempted to leave the building with him.

"What the hell have you said to him?" Chris asked angrily. "You can't just barge in here and turn my kid against me?"

"I've done no such thing. Oliver clearly misses his mother, that's all." Miles attempted to explain the situation calmly but the detective was having none of it.

"You know nothing about what happened between me and Nina so I suggest you mind your own business." He bit back, picking up his son since Kelly couldn't handle the boy's tantrum. "Stay away from Oliver too." And with that, Chris carried Oliver down the corridor, followed by Kelly who made no eye contact with Miles before leaving.

The chief prosecutor stood there for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. Had Detective Chambers really just accused him of meddling in affairs that he wasn't even aware of? With a heavy sigh he headed back down the corridor to see Nina.

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><p>When he entered her hospital room, Nina and Gumshoe turned to look at the chief prosecutor – both wanting to know what happened with Oliver. Miles explained how he'd found the small boy and had begun to talk to him before Chris turned up and gave him a few choice words. "I'm sorry for interfering in your private affairs, Nina." He apologised glumly, she shook her head and smiled softly.<p>

"There's no need to apologise. It's my fault for marrying such a selfish prick in the first place." Nina responded casually, seemingly back to her usual, blunt and honest self; although Miles knew that she was putting on a brave face over having to say goodbye to her son yet again.

Gumshoe recognised the tension in the room so quickly made up a story about getting coffee for everyone before fleeing the scene with high hopes. He prayed that Miles would finally make a move.

"Do you mind if I ask how often you see Oliver?" Miles asked quietly, sitting down beside her bed.

"Once a month." Nina replied shortly. "Although I'm expected to be grateful that Chris found an ounce of kindness and brought him down to see me today, even though it's three weeks before my next scheduled visit."

Miles really wanted to ask Nina why this was. How a man like Chambers could've won a custody battle – and how Nina could've lost so harshly to him. But he knew that it was none of his business for one thing. So instead he decided to make a kind remark. "I think he looks like you, your son I mean."

Nina's face lit up, clearly appreciating the comment. "Not many people have told me that, you know. It's always, 'oh Chris he has your nose!' or 'Oliver will certainly grow up to be like his dad.' Sometimes it's as if I'm not actually Oliver's mum…people just write me off as the woman that visits him once a month." However Nina's blue expression quickly disappeared and she resumed a smile. "I'm glad you came to visit today. I need to talk to you about something."

Miles' eyes lit up hopefully. "What would that be?"

"When I was locked in the basement of my old home I had a lot of time to think. I thought about all the things I've done, the people I hold close, all that crap, in order to keep me going…to keep me sane. I thought about you too; about how I've treated you cruelly when, in actuality, you've just been looking out for me. I was such a stubborn bitch towards you and I really regret it." Miles felt his heart pause: what exactly was Nina getting at? She sighed, clearly what she was about to say pained her a little. "I also promised myself that if I got out alive, I'd ask you for my old job back. So…could I please resume my position at the department?" Defeat didn't suit Nina. Although she clearly couldn't bring herself to say sorry, Miles took her words as a form of apology; moreover he was just too pleased about having Nina back at work to think of anything else.

"Of course. As soon as you're well enough, you may come back to work."

Nina smiled, certainly grateful. "Thank you so much."

Miles shook his head, denying her gratitude. "I'm merely allowing you to go back to work. There are plenty of other people at the LAPD that you could have asked to reinstate you."

"This isn't just about the job. You saved my life, Miles. If you hadn't found me…well, let's just say that I probably wouldn't have made it through the night. So, thank you."

"That's not true. You're the brave one; you saved my life."

Miles felt Nina's soft gaze on him and blushed under her brown eyes. "You're a very kind man with a big heart, Mr Chief Prosecutor."

Said big heart began to beat loudly: was this really happening?

But before Miles could speak up, Detective Gumshoe returned with three coffees and his usual grin.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

**Hi everyone! I hope the Monday blues haven't been kicking in today. If so, I can sympathise and share these bad vibes but hopefully this chapter is a boost for the week ahead. Honestly, finishing this chapter this afternoon cheered me up quite a bit so hopefully reading this makes you guys feel good too. **

**Idk if any of you readers know of the song "****_In Your Arms" _****by the band Stanfour but it's a beautiful song and I listened to it several times while writing a certain part of this chapter. I also think that the lyrics apply to Miles and Nina perfectly so it's well worth a listen if you've got the time.**

**Again, I really hope you guys like this chapter because I loved writing this one in particular! Without further ado...**

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><p>After one more week in the hospital, Nina had been discharged (well, she'd practically discharged herself), and was already eager to get back to work – despite the protests of those around her. On Monday morning, since she was still unable to drive and, knowing that none of her friends would've gladly offered to return the recovering officer to work due to their concerns, she caught a taxi to the precinct and made the effort to stroll through the front door as if nothing had happened. In fact, it was almost as if Nina had never been gone.<p>

She'd taken the time to cover the scars that were still visible with makeup, as well as abandoning all bandages and all advise of rest in the hopes that everything could return to normal. Of course that depended on one's personal definition of 'normal.'

While some commended her bravery during her capture at the hands of the late Manfred von Karma, a select few had criticised her ruthlessness – moreover, the fact that she'd avoided any form of trial seemed to get under their skin. Although they had no intentions of going against the chief of police's conclusion on the matter. Nor the chief prosecutor's; his closeness with Nina had recently become apparent after all – thus she had powerful friends.

Said powerful friend came to greet Nina as she clocked in – twelve minutes and seven seconds late – at 8:12 am. "It's so good to see you back at work, Officer Forester. Although I'm certain that I specified that you could come back when you were fully recovered."

"Mr Chief Prosecutor, there's no need for formalities. You've seen me without makeup and in a filthy hospital robe so I think that counts for something." She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Still, it's good to be back, thanks." Typical Nina, dodging the fact that she wasn't well enough to be back at work…

"But I did make it clear that you could return to work once you were well enough."

Nina brushed this off – when had she ever done as she was told? "I am perfectly well." She grinned at him sweetly. "So, where am I off to today? Has anyone been murdered?"

Miles thought hard for a moment. There were plenty of cases that could've benefitted from Nina's involvement but he didn't want to run the risk of her getting hurt – especially since he knew that the brunette was clearly pretending to be fully recovered. However, the chief prosecutor also knew that Nina wouldn't have accepted an easy work day after 3 weeks in a hospital bed. Therefore the only thing Miles could do was to let Nina accompany him during his witness interview in town that morning. That way he could keep a close eye on her and Nina could feel the satisfaction of working a long day.

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><p>So the pair set off to the Gatewater Hotel in order to question a witness, who was due to give a testimony in one of the chief prosecutor's upcoming cases. While Nina was confused as to why she wasn't going to be out patrolling the city, Miles convinced the brunette that he needed her assistance in the event that the interview fell apart – although he highly doubted that anything along those lines would occur.<p>

They headed through to the lobby and took a seat on the sofa, waiting for Miles' witness to arrive. "This hotel looks really expensive…" Nina said, gazing at her surroundings in awe; dazzled by the chandelier and the paintings that lined the wall.

"Have you never stayed here before?" He asked, observing the way Nina didn't know where in the lobby to look first – everything fascinated her – and that made Miles smile.

She shook her head, still smiling at the chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. "Chris probably brought his mistresses here but I've never dared go through the front door. I'm not good enough for a place like this."

Miles' heart sank at that; Nina really didn't appreciate how amazing a person she was – and it hurt him to hear the officer put herself down. "That's not true. All of the luxuries within this world are superficial. Every day I'm faced with a false reality where everyone bites their tongue and treats me with such sickening respect that it's clearly forged. But you're different, Nina. You say whatever is on your mind and you're not afraid to stand up for what you believe in. I-It's refreshing and—"

But the chief prosecutor noticed that Nina's eyes weren't on him; she was focused somewhere in the back of the hotel. Miles followed her gaze and couldn't believe what he saw: the suspect of the upcoming trial was stood by the elevator. He stood up quickly, watching as the suspicious-looking man got into the elevator and headed up to a higher floor.

"Isn't that…?" Before Miles could answer Nina he'd raced towards the flight of stairs, the officer following behind.

"Sir, there's no time. We're not going to get to the roof if we use the stairs." She pointed to the other elevator. "Come on..!"

Miles sucked in a breath, his hands shaking. There was no way he could use the elevator.

_It'll only be for one minute._

_But what if something goes wrong?! I can't embarrass myself in front of Nina!_

It was too late to contemplate his limited options; Nina had called the elevator down to the ground floor and was beckoning for the chief prosecutor to join her. "Miles, come on..!"

Reluctantly, he shuffled towards the elevator door. Holding in a shaky breath when the metal doors slammed shut. Nina's trying to kill me. I'm going to die in this box. Like the doors, Miles slammed his own eyes closed – pretending that he was safe in his office – praying for the ride to be fast.

But Lady Luck wasn't on his side.

All of a sudden, the lights went out and the elevator ceased to move. Immediately, Miles slid to the floor, burying his head in his knees. He was terrified to say the least.

"That bastard cut the power." Nina muttered, squinting in the darkness. "Well that blows this case right out of the water. I bet your witness was in on this too." She sighed in frustration and joined Miles on the floor. "I can't believe this. Maybe we should've taken the stairs after all."

Then she realised that Miles was unresponsive. Moreover, she could hear his muffled sobs. "Miles…?"

"Don't look at me until this is over. I-I don't want you to see me in this state." He mumbled, hiding his face in his knees, even though Nina was unable to see anything in the dark anyway. The chief prosecutor was a brave man but one thing he couldn't take was the thought of Nina seeing him display an ounce of weakness. She couldn't find out that he was still afraid.

However, Nina frowned to herself, then wrapped an arm around Miles' shoulder. "Only a cruel person could sit back and let you feel like this without trying to stop it."

The chief prosecutor tense up at the contact but this feeling was soon replaced by the worrying reality that he was trapped in the elevator. He couldn't think straight; his fear still plaguing his mind, even with Nina's arm holding him close in a reassuring way. For a moment or two, Nina stayed silent, with making her boss feel more at ease being her main priority. She was desperate to cease his crying. "…Is this because of DL-6?" She asked quietly after much deliberation.

Miles nodded slightly, still huddled into a ball.

"Is there anything I can do?"

For a few seconds, a terrible silence fell upon that small space, then Miles threw his shaking arms around Nina in a manner most uncharacteristic. But she didn't mind.

There was no shadow of a doubt that Miles felt safe in Nina's arms; her warmth and kindness radiated onto him and he almost forgot that they were stuck in an elevator.

"I'm so sorry, Miles." Nina whispered, still hugging him close, knowing how genuinely scared her boss was. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that as a young boy. Losing your dad must've hurt so much; especially since it took years for the truth to finally surface. You had to grow up how von Karma had planned a-and that must've impacted on you. So I'm sorry for being insensitive before." She sighed, finding apologising a tad difficult to do. "B-But I'm here for you now and I'd do anything to protect you from pain as bad as that."

Miles smiled slightly, a shaky and tearful laugh escaped his lips. Nina pulled out of the hug slightly. "What's so funny? I'm pouring my heart out to you…"

He shook his head, a small smirk still in place. "That's what I should be saying to you…"

"What do you mean?" She looked puzzled in Miles' direction.

"I should be the one to tell you that I'll protect you." The chief prosecutor smiled against her warmth, his arms still tightly locking her in. He was so close to confessing his feelings.

"I think I can handle this world myself." Nina smiled, touched at the gesture. "But cheers. If I ever become a damsel in distress, I'll give you a call."

* * *

><p>Half an hour had passed and Miles was finally starting to feel at ease (well, as best as he could within the terrible circumstances.) Of course, he'd not strayed far from the bubbly brunette; occasionally clinging to her arm for dear life if the elevator rattled slightly. But all in all, Nina had done a good job keeping her boss' mind at ease – constantly speaking with him to take the edge off his anxiety.<p>

"Okay, so what's your favourite colour?"

Miles thought for a few seconds – he'd never been asked such a basic question before – but it was nice to exchange a casual conversation with the woman who'd saved his life on more than one occasion now. "Magenta."

"Magenta? You mean red then?" Nina smirked, amused that the chief prosecutor's attention to detail didn't end with a question as trivial as a favourite colour.

"No, magenta is more of a violet-red." He explained, "like the shade of my jacket."

"Yeah but it's still red." She laughed a little, erupting a bit of a chuckle from the prosecutor as well. "Your turn, you may ask me anything."

For a few seconds, Miles contemplated the question he'd choose to ask the officer. There were so many things that he wanted to ask, that he wanted to know about Nina. So many questions that she had left to answer. However, the chief prosecutor knew that there was one question that he needed to ask, before another variable got in the way and interrupted everything.

"Nina, I-I'm just going rush headfirst into this without even thinking…e-even though I know this will backfire but I'm all out of ideas." He stammered, rushing to get his words out there, even if he was speaking too quickly and quietly for Nina to understand completely. "I've always thought you were wonderful; y-you're intelligent and bright and truly beautiful. You're far too good for me but…I just thought that I…I should probably tell you the truth even if this…this blows up in my face because I'm just not used to feeling this way about s-someone. This feeling only comes about once in a lifetime a-and if you don't feel the same, it's okay. You…you can just tell me and I won't bother you again. J-Just tell me I'm alone in this…" Miles sighed, taking in a deep breath and more feelings of dread as Nina stayed quiet. He wish he could've seen her reaction but there was still no light present in the elevator – thus he had to come to his own conclusion. "Therefore, m-my question is...if I asked you to dinner…w-what—"

His declaration was cut short by something soft against his lips.

It took a few moments for the chief prosecutor to realise what was going on in the dark around him. And it was only when the feeling ended that Miles realised what had just occurred: Nina had kissed him. As soon as she pulled away, Miles missed the feeling; he longed for that unusual yet overwhelming joy.

Then, as if by some powerful force, the elevator was filled with light once more; causing the pair to jump slightly, with Miles standing up to brush down his jacket. He then noticed Nina clutching her side with pained eyes as she grabbed the handrail for support; immediately, Miles gently guided the brunette to her feet, blushing when their noses touched.

Breaking the calm came a loud voice on the other side of the door. "We'll be with you in a few minutes, just hang in there."

We've been hanging in there for over an hour… Miles thought to himself, glancing over at Nina who turned to him with a smile and quietly linked her hand in his. "My answer is yes, by the way."

"Pardon?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten." The brunette laughed, "Your question. I said I'd like to go out to dinner with you. Although I think that I already made myself clear…"

Miles blushed, stumbling for a good response. "Are…are you sure?"

The elevator doors slid open and a crowd of people stood to greet the chief prosecutor and officer as they emerged back into civilisation. Nina hand slipped away from Miles' and he missed her warm touch, but at the same time, he quickly forced a smile to reassure the panicked public.

"Friday night, 7pm." Nina muttered as she also forged a grin for the crowd. "You can pick the place."

* * *

><p>That night Miles lay awake in bed thinking of Nina. He couldn't get her warm smile out of his mind; moreover, the kiss they'd shared in the elevator. And he couldn't stop checking his emails in the hopes that Nina had sent him a message. Then he checked his mobile phone; however, remembered that the officer's phone had been lost in the lake of People Park. He'd definitely have to buy her a new one.<p>

Across the city, Nina was sat on the balcony of her apartment, staring out at the bright lights from all the buildings around her. She so wished that she could talk to Miles; that he could share the view and coffee with her. She also wondered if the chief prosecutor was thinking of her, and their upcoming date on Friday. But the view also saddened her; she felt so small looking out on the big city and nights like these gave her time to think. After ten minutes pacing the corridor in her pyjamas and slippers, Nina deciding to head down to the hall in order to use the public phone.

Upon hearing the phone ring, Miles quickly grabbed it from his bedside table – thinking hard when he didn't recognise the number calling him.

_Larry's probably calling for help after doing something stupid. Only he could call this late…_

"Hey, Mr Chief Prosecutor…"

Of course the chief prosecutor couldn't mistake that wonderfully familiar English accent.

"Nina? Are you alright? Has something happened?" He asked, jolting upright.

Nina laughed a little on the receiving end. "No, no, I'm fine." She blushed slightly; thankful that Miles couldn't see her. "I-I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Oh…well, hello." Miles stuttered, feeling equally flustered.

"What're you up to? Thinking of me?" She joked; although Miles couldn't admit that that was what he was actually doing.

"I'm just reading through the details for a trial I'm prosecuting tomorrow. And how're you spending this evening?"

"Just thinking."

"Thinking?"

"I don't always run around causing trouble. I am capable of having a quiet evening, you know."

They both started to laugh, longing to see the other's face.

"Well…I'll let you get back to your reading." Nina sighed, yawning a little. "Goodnight Miles."

"Goodnight Nina."

His heart sank momentarily when Nina ended the call. But then a smile spread across his face; she really did care about him. Furthermore, Miles knew that he was going to fall hard for Nina. And he was powerless to stop this from occurring.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Thanks for reading and continuing with this fanfiction, it means a lot! Reviews, follows etc are always appreciate so thanks to those who have dropped me such lovely reviews or follow/favourite this story! I hope I can keep you interested in this for many chapters to come.**


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